Yami mata Hikari no Tenshis
by Mitsuko-chan
Summary: AU-Egyptian-ish An ancient prophecy is to be fulfilled as an evil High Priest kills the King and Queen to take over their kingdom, leaving their two twin boys in the hands of maidservants. Will the prophecy come to pass, or will darkness forever cover th
1. Prologue

A/n- welcome to the first installment of Yami mata Hikari no Tenshis. First off this is AU. It *might* have some Egyptian stuff in it but it is basically stuff I've made up so if I say something in contrast to Egypt please don't get angry with me. Example: There is a KING not a PHAROAH. Thank you for your time.  
  
Yami mata Hikari no Tenshis (Angels of Light and Darkness)  
  
By: Mitsuko-chan  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.  
  
"talking"  
  
'thoughts'  
  
I will *mostly* be using the Japanese names for the YGO characters because they seem to go with the setting in my opinion, but some of them will be in the American version. Example: Yami Yuugi=Yami & Yuugi=Yugi. I'll let you know more about the rest later.  
  
********************************  
  
Chapter 1 - Prologue  
  
CLUNK  
  
CLUNK  
  
CLUNK  
  
His footsteps echoed round-about the tunnel. His smirk widened as he neared his destination, eyes flashing at the thought of sealing the fate of his rival. The man that took what should have been HIS. HE definitely would have made a better KING than the current one was, is, or could ever be. He smirked again at that thought. Not that the KING would be a king much longer. No, soon, he would join Horus[1] in his kingdom of the doomed.  
  
But now, now he would claim all that had been kept from him just because he was the son of the King's priest. 'It could very well have been me that was born to rule, it should have been me,' the High Priest thought to himself bitterly. Speaking of which, the king's sons were supposedly being born at this very minute. Twins the healer had said did he not? Which would be the first twins to ever be born into the kingdom.  
  
They were supposedly supposed to be the ones to fulfill the ancient prophecy.  
  
There will be two.  
  
Though they are two they are one.  
  
Though they are one they are two.  
  
The light and the dark.  
  
When fused together they will calm the chaos.  
  
The light is the key while the dark is the sacrifice.  
  
The puzzle is the power and the power is the puzzle.  
  
The puzzle must be solved for light to infuse with dark.  
  
It is written in the PERT EM HRU[2]  
  
The one who solves the puzzle  
  
Shall inherit the Shadow Games.  
  
He becomes the guardian of right and passes judgment on evil.  
  
"Gah, nothing but superstition," the High Priest said to no one. The echoes of footsteps died down as the priest came to a stop in front of an ancient tablet, buried underground for centuries...the answer to the power of the king.  
  
The ancient language that was etched into the stone was known only by a select few including: the King, the Queen, the High Priest, and the King's advisors.  
  
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Of course!! It was a part of the prophecy, the secret to the King's power lies within the PUZZLE!!!" the High Priest cried after reading the inscriptions engraved on the ancient tablet. "That fool always did seem attached to that mystical item, heh heh and *now* I know why! His powers will be broken this night and the mighty king shall fall!! MWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"  
  
********************************  
  
"You may now enter, Your Majesty," one of the Queen's maidservants said, bowing respectfully, as she came outside into the hallway to escort the royal into his wife's chambers.  
  
The King nodded showing his understanding and proceeded into the room. The first thing to greet his eyes were the three forms all lying comfortably on the bed. The first was his queen and then there was his two newborn sons who were both resting in their mother's arms. They were both clothed in silk blankets that covered everything except for their small faces. Queen Sohalia looked up at her soul mate with deep, crystalline eyes that had first attracted him to her.  
  
"They are beautiful, are they not?" Sohalia whispered so as not to wake the young bundles in her arms.  
  
"Yes, they are wonderful thanks to you," the King said kissing her on the forehead.  
  
She smiled and looked back down at the twins. "Do you want to hold one?"  
  
"I would love nothing more," he replied taking the child whose head was resting in the crook of Sohalia's right elbow.  
  
He cradled the baby in his arms and said, "I want to name this one Yami. What do you want to call his brother?"  
  
Sohalia looked thoughtful as she played with the little one and it grasped her index finger in its small hand helping her as she thought of the perfect name before replying, "I think I will call this younger one Yugi, it's such a sweet name do you not think so?"  
  
"It is fitting, koi[3], if you like it then so do I."  
  
The two smiled and held each other's gaze before a shiver seemed to crawl up the King's spine and the look was broken. He unconsciously held Yami closer to himself in protection and took up a fighting stance.  
  
The smile disappeared from both of the royals' faces and Queen Sohalia inquired, "What is it?"  
  
"We are being invaded. We need to get you and the children to safety. Sound the alarm gather all the guards and warriors and send all the servants into the tunnels have them go to their homes until it is safe to come back. I want everyone in this room to use the secret tunnels, you need your maidservants to help you and care for the children until this is over."  
  
To emphasize his point the King handed baby Yami to a maidservant named Mai[4] then opened the hidden doorway behind a tapestry hanging from the wall.  
  
"I am well, I will go."  
  
"No, I cannot allow it!"  
  
"You will need the aide of my magic as well as your own! We are the only ones left besides your priests and even I am stronger than they! You are my soul partner and I will not leave your side even in death!! The maidservants can take care of the young ones until this is all over. I know that together we can defeat the evil that has come upon us!"  
  
"You are too stubborn and concerned for others for it to be a benefit unto you. If there is nothing I can do to stop you at least promise me to get away if it becomes too fierce!"  
  
"I...promise."  
  
"Good," returned the King as he exited the room and went into the hallway to meet with his personal guards.  
  
"Take care of them, my maidservants! If I should die go take the children to this place!" She handed Isis[5] a piece of papyrus[6] with some instructions in hieroglyphs on it. "And then my commands are to raise these children as your own. Treat them with love as I would! Mai, please take Yami and Isis, I wish for Yugi to become yours if I shall perish. May Bes[7] protect and watch over you."  
  
The two girls nodded, one with tears in her eyes and the other with a look of determination as they each comforted the small beings they clutched to themselves, the small treasures that needed the maids to keep them alive.  
  
"Go to your homes for now and if I survive I will come find you there when this is all over, but if I return not *leave the country!* and get them away from here!"  
  
"Yes, your Majesty!"  
  
Queen Sohalia's eyes which had been hard and commanding softened and tears pooled in the corners of her eyes as she kissed both of her little ones goodbye, hoping to be returned to them soon. "Now go!"  
  
The two fled into the tunnels as the other maidservants helped the Queen out into the hallway.  
  
********************************  
  
The King stood waiting in the receiving room or the throne room as he, his wife, and his warriors stood waiting for the oncoming assault that was just beyond the throne room doors.  
  
BOOM!!!  
  
The reverberation of the doors resounded around the entire room as the King's trusted High Priest entered with an army of his own.  
  
"Hello, my friend," the King greeted.  
  
"I am no friend of yours, you baka[8]! I never have been and now your rule will come to an end and my rein will begin."  
  
"Do you not think that this dispute should be put to rest?! How long will you grieve yourself and others around you just because you believe you should be the King?! This has gone on long enough as it is already! Let us put this behind us and not look back!"  
  
High Priest Seto[9] sneered and said, "Oh, we will your *HIGHNESS* we will. I will bury this in the past as I bury you, your queen, all of your fighters, and we cannot forget those heirs of yours either!!! I will personally make sure those gakis[10] of yours are put to death along with anyone that still remains loyal to you!"  
  
With that threat unleashed, the King could no longer stand by and not take care of the problem. "ATTACK!" both leaders cried and the onslaught began.  
  
********************************  
  
The battle that had ensued for four long hours was strenuous for both sides, but neither side would give in to the other. Body's littered the floor all around the room and the coppery smell of blood was in the air. Most of the forces on both sides had been destroyed and only the strongest warriors remained.  
  
Like he had asked the Queen had managed to stay out of the way and received minimal damage. At least one fifth of the guards had been guarding her and now only a handful remained. Sohalia used her magic to help, but it had been helping very little. Her energy was drained from using so much of her magic and she had already been exhausted from being in labor only hours before. Finally the last of her guards were eliminated and the sentry came after the wife of the King. He went in for the kill, coming from behind and down low. The Queen had no chance to escape before she was struck down.  
  
Her shriek split the air and forced her husband, who was battling with his rival, to turn and look.  
  
"NOOOOOOO!!!!! SOHALIAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"  
  
That distraction was all the High Priest needed and the King was rammed through with his nemesis, and yet most trusted counselor's sword.  
  
High Priest Seto stood in front of the King who was on his knees and with the free hand that was not holding his sword, was holding the gash in his stomach. He looked up at the High Priest, who felt nothing but contempt for him, in pain.  
  
The High Priest's stance was that of regality and greatness as he took slow steps towards the King. "Give me the power of the king. Give me the Puzzle."  
  
The King looked up and narrowed his eyes, "You will *NEVER* have my puzzle, you traitor," and with his last remaining strength took the Puzzle's cord from around his neck and slammed it into the floor, breaking it into a mass of tiny pieces.  
  
"There, now you can never have the power of the King, only those whose rightful place it is to rule the throne will be able to put the puzzle pieces back together," he said defiantly.  
  
The High Priest roared, fuming he chopped the King into small pieces just like the puzzle was in. "There, now let us see if anyone shall put you back together!" Then mockingly he stated, "Long live the King[11]."  
  
He turned back to the Puzzle to gather all the pieces thinking, 'if I cannot obtain the power of the King then NO ONE shall have it!' only to find that the pieces seemed to be fading into nothingness. Seto's eyes blazed, "WHAT?! NO THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!"  
  
But it was...and it would shape the future of two small boys...  
  
********************************  
  
Mai held both Yami and Yugi in her arms as she awaited the return of Isis. Both boys had woken up and were staring at her. Yugi with big, bright, amethyst eyes and Yami with slightly more narrowed, darker, ruby eyes. Mai bounced the two up and down as they began to squirm and she hoped that they would stay quiet. The hiding spot she was in was not very hard to find and she did not want to make it any easier for the villains than she needed to.  
  
Finally Isis came jogging back, tears shining in her eyes and she said, "They are dead. The both of them. Both the Queen and King are lost to us."  
  
"Stop your crying, we need to be strong for the little ones! It is now up to us to make sure they live. They must fulfill the prophecy for it is their destiny and it is us who must help them on that journey."  
  
"You are right, if it is their destiny to save the world then it must also be destiny that we are the ones that should raise them. I will take Yugi back now."  
  
Mai handed the bundle back to Isis for her safekeeping as they followed the instructions they were given to see the Master of Prophecies, Shadi[12].  
  
********************************  
  
Shadi stood calmly in front of the raised dais that now held the Millennium Puzzle. He had been going about his daily chores when fate had brought him into the back room. Not knowing why he had been summoned to the Prophecy Room he looked around waiting for the sign and sure enough it appeared. The pieces of the Millennium Puzzle slowly materialized on the dais. As soon as all of the pieces took form a golden box[13] with hieroglyphs and markings all over it appeared right beside the pieces.  
  
Shadi feeling lead, put all the pieces into the box. As soon as the last piece was in and the lid of the box was secure there was a brilliant flash of light in which time Shadi was momentarily blinded and when he had recovered there sat not one box, but two. An exact replica of the first golden box had appeared right in front of him.  
  
Shadi opened the lid of this second box and saw to his amazement that a second Millennium Puzzle had been created, but it was also in pieces like its brother. "So, it is time for another prophecy to come to pass. The twins will be here soon."  
  
********************************  
  
As Shadi had said, it would not take long. Indeed it did not. Mai and Isis quickly brought him the two princes and he accepted them into his establishment. Once everyone was safely inside, Shadi took Yugi and Yami into his arms and into the Prophecy room, telling Mai and Isis they were not allowed to follow.  
  
The walls of the sacred chamber and the ceiling were made of crystal and on the floor a magic circle had been engraved into the rock. The chamber was void of any type of furniture save two low raised platforms and the dais.  
  
Shadi stood in the middle of the two platforms and placed one of the two boys on each. Yami on the right and Yugi on the left. On the dais, in front of each child, sat the two golden boxes. Shadi raised his hands into the air and began to chant.  
  
A crimson light emanated from the golden box on the right and began to encircle Yami just as a violet light on the opposite left side was doing to Yugi. It swirled around them like wind before being pulled into their bodies. The ritual was complete.  
  
Shadi took both boys into his arms again and went back out into the living area where Mai and Isis were waiting. He handed them back and then went back into the sacred chamber. He returned a moment later carrying the two golden boxes.  
  
"Take these. When you take them and build your new homes and families make sure you give them an alias[14]. Do not use their real names until they come of age."  
  
"How will we know when that is?"  
  
"That is a good question and one that I will answer shortly. Now what I wish for you to do with these boxes is to hide them as well as you can. Make sure they are in a place where no one will be able to find them. When it is time they will be drawn to these boxes and they will find them no matter where you put them. You may even bury them, but these two will still be able to get to them. So hide them and once they have been found they will have a strong desire to put the pieces of their great father's artifact together again. Once the Millennium Puzzles have been completed then, and only then will it be time to reveal to them who they are and the task that has been appointed them. Do you understand?"  
  
"Hai[15]," the two maidservants chorused.  
  
"Good, now be gone, and good luck."  
  
The women departed and went their own ways.  
  
"And so it begins..."  
  
A/N- well, what did you think? That is if there is anybody even reading this. That might just be the longest chapter...I think. I don't really know as of right now, but we will just have to wait and see. Well, if you are reading this please leave a review. Tell me if it is bad, good, or ok and needs improvement-then you can tell me how to go about that improvement.  
  
(this is more for those who are just now starting here and have no idea what the terms are.)  
  
*KEY*  
  
1. Horus: Egyptian god of the Underworld.  
  
2. PERT EM HRU: "Coming Forth By Day" original title for the book of the dead.  
  
3. Koi: love  
  
4. Mai: a friend of Yugi and the gang's. Mai Kajako in Japanese. Mai Valentine in American version.  
  
5. Isis: Holder of the Millennium Necklace (originally) American name is Ishizu Ishtahl.  
  
6. Papyrus: reed cut into strips, pressed together, pounded, and dried to make sheets to write on.  
  
7. Bes: Egyptian goddess of protection. Protector of pregnant women, newborn babies, and the family.  
  
8. Baka: idiot.  
  
9. Seto: CEO of Kaiba Corporation and rival of Yugi. Japanese name Seto Kaiba.  
  
10. Gaki: brat.  
  
11. Long live the King: I do not own the Lion King.  
  
12. Shadi: the mysterious holder of the Millennium Key and the Millennium Scales.  
  
13. Golden Box: it's the box Yugi's Jiichan (grandfather) gave him containing the Millennium Puzzle.  
  
14. Alias: for those of you that don't know, it is a name you go by when you don't want someone to know your real name. My alias is Mitsuko-chan.  
  
15. Hai: yes.  
  
Well, that is all the terms. I hope you enjoyed the story and review. It would make me very happy. Any questions or comments put it in your review!  
  
Ja ne! (see ya lata!) 


	2. Revealing the Hidden

A/N- Hey, everybody! ^_^ Wow, I didn't think this story would be this popular! 10 reviews for just one chapter!! That's great!! In fact that is what is going to keep this story going. I was planning on just quitting and taking it down to re-work out the plot, but seeing all of your reviews helped me to decide that I'll just stick with it and rough it out. (hopefully I won't regret that)  
  
Summary: AU-Egyptian-ish. An ancient prophecy is to be fulfilled as an evil High Priest kills the King and Queen to take over their kingdom, leaving their two twin boys in the hands of maidservants. Will the prophecy come to pass or will darkness forever cover the land? Yugi & Yami centered fic. Please R&R! ^_^  
  
Thanks be to all of you wonderful ppl that changed my mind about finishing this!!  
  
SerafinaMoon: Thanks!! That really means a lot!  
  
Hillary: Thank you so much!!!  
  
Amrit: I'm 1 year older than you. O.o? Thank YOU!!!! What did I do that you're thanking ME for?  
  
YOU SUCK: It's nice to meet you too. I'm really sorry you feel that way. I did put in the summary that it was Yugi and Yami centric, but I didn't know that that didn't show up. I'm sorry for your inconvenience so I put the full summary in here just for you and others that share your philosophy. Have a nice day! ^_^  
  
Wokie: Thank you so much!!!  
  
Una: Isn't it. I thought it was pretty cool idea when I had it then I just let it sit before finally putting it up. Now I just have to find a way around all the plot holes. HEHE...I might not hate him later...it just depends. I'll just have to wait and see what he does. Thanks so much!!! That means a great deal to me and you don't even know how much!!  
  
Nightlight5: Thanks!! I'm glad that you did find it though!! Um...yeah, kinda...you'll just have to see what happens!! And THANK YOU SO MUCH!!  
  
Mists: Thanks for sticking up for me, that made my day!! Thanks and I'm so glad you like it. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long and I'm afraid it will continue to be only once a month updates...I never get any time to get on the computer, but thank you so much! Everything you said meant so very much to me!! Thanks for encouraging me to contiue!  
  
digigirl-izumi: I don't get it...what's so funny about who's raising them? Let me in on it! Thanks for reviewing, Nicky!  
  
Subieko: Hey, this is different. It's not really in the past...more just a story by itself I guess. You're welcome as well. I only wish I could review them more. I hardly ever get any time on the computer so I don't get to update a lot or review a lot. I'm sorry about that. Thanks!! I don't actually, just what I pick up from other stories, but I learned A LOT more today!  
  
A special thanks to the following for putting me on their favorite author's lists!  
  
SerafinaMoon  
  
Wokie  
  
digigirl-izumi  
  
Subieko  
  
* * *  
  
Chapter 2- Revealing the Hidden  
  
Curled up, asleep, in a small, comfortable bed, tucked carefully under the covers was a small boy. The only visible part of his body was his head and his wild hair. Sunlight streamed into the small room, illuminating it. Some of the rays came to rest on the sleeping boy's face and he rolled over, hiding himself from their light once more.  
  
His hair was, oddly enough, three different colors. The main part of his hair was in black spikes, which was outlined in magenta, and his bangs, which were in the shape of a star and hung so they framed his small, delicate face, were blonde. One of these blonde strands hung low, touching the child's nose.  
  
A gentle breeze blew in through the open window, his bangs waved back and forth. The one touching his nose began to tickle and he smiled serenely in his sleep. It moved gently, softly across his nose, tickling it more. He wiggled his nose in an attempt to rid himself of whatever it was, but it did not appear to work.  
  
The rubbing seemed to finally awaken the small boy of eight summers. (a/n- 8 yrs. old) He opened his eyes, revealing beautiful amethyst orbs. He heard a knock on his door and quickly sat up, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Co-co-...ahhh...come in!" he said brightly, yawning.  
  
The door opened slightly and a black-haired, blue-eyed someone stepped into the room.  
  
"Good morning, Isis-sama!" the little boy told her in a jaunty tone.  
  
"Good, morning, Mitsu-chan. Are you ready to come and eat breakfast?"  
  
"Un!" (Yeah/yes)  
  
Isis chuckled at his enthusiasm before saying, "Alright, it's waiting for you on the kitchen table, Mitsu-chan."  
  
"YAY!" Mistu cried jumping out of bed, but tripping over his tangled blankets and falling to the floor.  
  
"Ow. *sniffle* That hurt."  
  
Isis shook her head slightly amused at the child's mishap. She bent down and helped him de-tangle himself from his sheets. Once that was in order she took his tiny scraped hands into her own.  
  
"Want me to kiss it and make it better?"  
  
"Um hum," he replied in that sweet, gentle voice of his, nodding.  
  
Isis smiled and quickly gave the scraps a peck. She loved taking care of the small prince. He was too kawaii (cute) for his own good, and so innocent. Of course she could not run the risk of him being discovered, that is why she had changed his name. She desperately wanted to call him by his name, Yugi, but it just was not possible.  
  
Darkness had covered the land the moment Emperor Seto had begun his reign. He knew he had lost the twin princes, but had so far no luck in finding them. Therefore they had moved to the country just beyond the city. No one every came there and Isis could raise the young prince in peace. Renaming him had not been too hard; Isis had chosen a name that seemed to fit his personality. Mitsu, meaning light. (a/n- in Japanese. Yes, that is close to my name *Mitsu*ko. My name means "child of light" and actually I did have Mitsu as my penname at first until I found my new one.)  
  
"Can I play with Anzu-tachi and Ryou-kun today, Isis-sama?"  
  
"Yes, watashi no tenshi." (my angel)  
  
"Sugoi!" (Awesome)  
  
"But first you must eat little tenshi." (little Angel)  
  
"Alright Isis-sama!"  
  
The two walked into the small kitchen with only a fireplace/stove, a small four-person table, and a few cabinets housing all the dishes and silverware. Mitsu sat down at the table where a plate of steaming flat bread cakes was waiting for him. (a/n- hehe. Pancakes) His eyes brightened and he looked up at his guardian.  
  
"Arigatou, Isis-sama!" (Thank you)  
  
Isis chortled, "Your welcome, Mitsu-chan, now eat if you want to go play with your friends!"  
  
Mitsu nodded eagerly and started eating. In a few minutes he was done and running to his room to change clothes. He put on a simple, tight, white sleeveless shirt and white pants. Then he quickly threw on a silver- studded, white belt and some silver armbands. Once he was done getting ready he ran back to his guardian and gave her a hug before leaving to find his friends.  
  
He found them already at their "meeting place" and not only a meeting place but it was a "secret" meeting place that only "they" knew about. (a/n- kids...they forget all about the parents) He saw Anzu swinging in a wooden swing with Ryou behind her pushing her higher and higher. She giggled in delight as she flew through the air.  
  
Anzu had brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was the first friend Mitsu had and she had then introduced him to Ryou and they all soon began playing together after that. They were more like family than friends. They were practically inseparable and they were always helping each other out. Anzu was also Mitsu's secret crush, but he had not told anybody about that yet.  
  
Ryou had white hair and pale skin, but what was so weird about him was that he had eyes the color of chocolate unlike most albinos. He was also the same age as Mitsu, eight. Unlike Anzu who was nine summers old.  
  
Mitsu walked a little closer, wanting to help Ryou push Anzu, but they noticed him before he got there and Anzu stopped swinging.  
  
"Happy Birthday, Mitsu!" they said together smiling.  
  
Mitsu burst into a huge grin and ran over to them. "I'm glad you remembered!"  
  
"Of course, Mitsu-kun," replied Anzu, "you're our tomodachi! Why would we forget something so important?!" (tomodachi=friend)  
  
Mitsu smiled again. "Let's play tag! You want to?"  
  
"SOU!" (Yes/ok) they both yelled excitedly.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
(blah, blah, blah, they play tag, yadda, yadda, yadda, it's time to go...)  
  
"Ryou-chan! It's time to come home, darling!"  
  
"Ka-chan, sou!" (Ok, mom) (a/n- I think that's how it goes)  
  
"Ryou-kun, sayonara!" (goodbye, Ryou) Mitsu and Anzu both called after him and he turned halfway to wave as he ran home. Mitsu and Anzu both flinched and called a "Watch out!" as Ryou ran right into the wall beside the doorway. Then they sweatdropped as he rubbed his nose and went inside.  
  
"I've got to go home too, Mitsu! Bye!"  
  
"Bye..." Mitsu called a little sadly. He wished his friends could stay and play for a little longer. Deciding to go home himself, he started walking, but as he was walking he felt something strange that he had never felt before. It was like a pull or a tug on his heart. Something was calling out to him and he wanted to find out what it was. The feeling intensified with every step he took closer to home. 'What could this feeling be?' he thought to himself.  
  
Once he made it to his house, he started to go into the backyard where the feeling was coming from, but suddenly Isis stuck her head out of the back doorway and called for him to come in and eat ban gohan. (dinner)  
  
(a/n- nothing much happens here so I'm not going to go into detail.)  
  
Mitsu quickly ate and was sent off to bed for the night. He went into his room and got under the covers without changing clothes. He knew his Isis- sama would check on him before she went to bed; she always did. He could not wait for her to fall asleep so he could find out what that feeling was. It was getting stronger now with each passing minute as it grew closer to midnight...the time he was born.  
  
(a/n- blah, blah, blah...he waits, and waits, and waits, you get the idea.)  
  
Finally, after hours of waiting, Isis-sama creaked open the door to check on (A/N- IT'S SNOWING!!!! SO COOL!!! ^_^) her little tenshi. She crept in as quietly as she could so that she came to stand beside Mitsu's bed. He pretended to be asleep, not that it was very hard for him since he had never been up so late before and his eyelids were very heavy. Isis whispered, "I love you," in his ear and kissed him gently on the forehead before leaving his room, closing the door behind her, and going to her own bedroom to sleep.  
  
As soon as the door closed, Mitsu was out of bed and sneaking toward the door. He was very careful not to step on any of the squeaky parts of the floor and when he reached the door he opened it quickly so it would not have any time to squeak. (a/n- I do that with one of the doors at my house so I'm not just making that up)  
  
He looked into his guardian's room, but the door was closed. He nodded to himself in satisfaction and crept to the back of the house and out the backdoor as quietly as he could. Once outside he stopped creeping and ran to a cherry tree that was just beginning to blossom. It was a beautiful night with the full moon shining on the tree making some of the leaves sparkle. Fireflies danced all around him and he gazed at all of it in awe. It was all so pretty.  
  
'But I have a job to do!' he told himself forcefully. He always had a soft spot for nature and all its wonders. Maybe that was what this feeling was? No, that was not it. It was something else. Something close to his heart. His parents maybe? Did this feeling have something to do with them? He peered at the tree from different angles but was unable to find anything. He knew the feeling was coming from this tree, well, from INSIDE it really, but how could he get to it.  
  
Something inside him told him to go back in the house and get something he could stand on. He quickly did as the feeling told him to. He came back outside with a stool and brought it over to the trunk of the cherry tree. He climbed up on it, it was a little difficult to balance since the ground beneath him was uneven, but he finally managed to stand on it without it wobbling.  
  
'Now what?' he asked the feeling.  
  
*Now look for a hole in the tree* the wind itself seemed to whisper. Mitsu nodded to the voice and began his search. 'Ah ha!' he thought as he found a big hole up between two thick branches. He could just barely see it and he was standing on his tiptoes. He tried to reach into it to find out what was inside it, but the stool started wobbling again and it fell over with him on top. He tried not to cry out. He just barely managed it, but he had hurt himself when he landed on the stool. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, but he did not let them flow. He wiped them away and took the stool back into the living room.  
  
He came back instead with the biggest chair he could manage. (a/n- in other words the smallest chair) He had a hard time trying to scoot the chair till it was up against the tree, but he finally managed it. He climbed back up onto this chair and was finally able to look into the hole and stick his hand in. He groped around until his hand felt something cold and solid. He wrapped his hand around it, pulling out into the night air.  
  
It was a golden box with an eye symbol on the front. He pulled open the lid and saw bunches of pieces of gold. Like a puzzle! The light of the full moon hit the pieces making them glisten as it came out of hiding behind a cloud. The clock in the hall sounded...midnight.  
  
A/N- well, there you go. I hoped you liked it. If you're wondering why I used so much Japanese when I didn't really have to...well, let's just say I was edgamwaquate'n ya! Or at least those of you that don't know any Japanese. So you can write it down, use it in your stories (if you have any) and sound like you know what you're talking about. Ok, that's good enough for me for now. I'll try to update next month.  
  
NOTE: If you want to know when I'm going to update next and are the kinda person that checks their e-mail I'll be happy to send ya a link if ya gimme your address (e-mail) For Una, digigirl-izumi, Subieko, and Nightlight5 if you want one then just tell Serafina cuz I'm getting her to do it for me. I never check my e-mail or get on it either.  
  
So, all I have left to say is R&R, please!!! 


	3. Finding Pieces of the Past

A/N- So, many of you asked if Yami was getting his Millennium Puzzle at the same time as Yugi/Mitsu. Yes, this is going to be his chapter. Also here is some background info on some characters.  
  
Yugi & Yami= 8 years old Ryou= 8 Anzu= 9 Bakura= 9 Honda=9 Jounouchi= 9  
  
Alrightie, I think that's all you really need to know. If you even need to know that. Anyways, thank you all for reviewing! They make me so happy! So I thank you for them very much!! ^_^  
  
Subieko: Thanks! Well, it is kind of odd isn't it? Well, actually the show has nothing to do with my story (for now at least) except for the characters. Does that help? Thanks, your welcome, and thanks again! ^_^  
  
Mists: Thanks! I'm glad you like it so much! Oh, yeah, well, I know a lot of people that don't really like Anzu, but I don't really have any problem with her. Yup, Yami/Akiva is getting his at the same time too. ^_^ Thanks!  
  
Wokie: So I C! What kind of ice cream? *starry eyes* I LOVE chocolate ice cream! I'm glad you're glad! Yeah, I was kinda worried about that too, but I'll keep TRYing. Keyword TRY! Oh goody! Yup, Yami's gonna get his too! Well, lata!  
  
digigirl-izumi: I'm glad you liked it! *snort* You are so funny! Yeah, me too! ^_^ SO KAWAII!!! HEHEHE!! Well, C-ya lata!  
  
stoiflyne: YEAH!! ^_^ *starry eyes* Thank you so much!!  
  
SerafinaMoon: Thanks! Here it is!  
  
Latias: Thank you!!! ^_^ I'm glad you like it and here's the next chap!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 3- Finding Pieces of the Past  
  
On the outskirts of a small town was a row of cottages. From the outside, they were cozy little houses, but on the inside, not all of them were quite so comfortable. Of course, *some* of them were, like for instance, the one at the very end. The one closest to the small forest.  
  
In this cottage, in a small room, was a sleeping boy. He was curled up in his bundle of blankets, only the top of his spiky magenta hair could be seen above the blankets. Sunlight streamed into the room through the open window followed by a small breeze. The bundle did not stir.  
  
Birds piped their songs outside his window and could be heard all the way from the forest. The bundle groaned, and removed the covers from his face, but did not open his eyes. His face was tanned from always being out in the sun playing with his friends. His hair, that could barely be seen before, was now fully revealed. The main part of his hair was black, and was tipped with magenta, but what was the oddest bit, golden star-shaped bangs hung around his face, while other bits of blonde spiked up into the black and magenta.  
  
Somewhere a domesticated rooster crowed, forcing the boy to open his eyes and reveal brilliant ruby orbs. The boy sat up and looked out the window that faced the distant trees. Still not fully awake yet, the youth climbed silently out of bed and began to dress. He pulled off his bed clothes and drew on a black tank top shirt over his head. Then he put on black pants and shoes. To complete the ensemble, he adorned himself with trinkets of gold. Armbands, around his upper arms and wrists, and a simple gold ring.  
  
He just finished, when Mai, his guardian, knocked softly on the door and pushed it open. Seeing him awake, she said, "Oh, ohayou gazai masu (good morning), Akiva! I've made you a special breakfast for your birthday! Are you ready to eat?"  
  
(a/n- Akiva is a Hebrew name meaning protect. I had some friends and friends of friends vote on this along with two other names and this is the one chosen to be Yami's name.)  
  
"I sure am, Mai!"  
  
Mai smiled, "Good, then let's eat!"  
  
Mai hated not calling the young boy, who was entrusted into her care, by his real name. Just like Mai's friend Isis had called her charge by a different name, Mai had done the same thing to keep the young lad safe. 'Oh, Yami, I wish things didn't have to be this way. I hope everything turns out right for you.'  
  
Mai led the way into the small kitchen and sat down in one of the two chairs. A plate sat in front of each of the chairs and on each plate lie a steaming bun covered in sugar. Akiva's eyes widened and his face lit up upon seeing the buns and he quickly sat down to begin eating.  
  
"So what are you planning on doing today, Akiva?"  
  
"Can I go play with the guys?"  
  
"Un. (yes/yeah) Just make sure you are back here before dark sets, ok?"  
  
"Sou. (ok/yes)"  
  
Just as Akiva finished eating there was a knock on the door. Akiva jumped up from his seat and said, "That's them. Arigatou (thank you) for breakfast, Mai-san. Mata ne! (see ya)" He ran to the door and exited the dwelling.  
  
Mai smiled after him before picking up both plates and taking them to the sink to wash.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Akiva smiled to see his best friend Jounouchi standing outside waiting for him. "Hey, Jou! Are we going to get the others?"  
  
"Un, I was planning on heading over to Honda's next. I hope you brought your swim suit, cuz we're going to the creek today, remember?"  
  
"Un, I remember and I brought it. Let's go get Honda and the others!"  
  
"Alright! Race ya there!"  
  
And they were off. Off on a quest to free the others from the evil villains, better known as "parents".  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If anyone would have been walking through the forest next to the small town, they would have heard the sounds of splashing and laughter. Four boys in swimming clothes were playing in a small creek that was waist deep for them. At that precise moment they had divided into teams and were splashing each other.  
  
Bakura and Akiva were against Jounouchi and Honda.  
  
Bakura had white hair and a pale complexion. His eyes were the color of chocolate and he lived with his father. His mother had apparently left when he was young and he had never seen her.  
  
Honda, on the other hand, was a brunette with brown eyes and a tan skin tone. He was quite tall, but not so much as Jounouchi. Honda and Jounouchi had been best friends forever and were inseparable. It was almost as if they were brothers.  
  
Jounouchi was different from both of them. His hair was blonde and drooped into his face from being coated in water. His eyes were the color of honey and he was the tallest one in the group.  
  
"HA! I got ya!" one of the boys called as the splash fight waged on.  
  
"Oh yeah? Take that!" Someone from the other side called.  
  
By the time they were done splashing around, nearly all of them were half drowned. It was about noon when they all decided to come out of the water and play tag to dry off. They giggled and laughed as they chased each other around, every once in awhile calling out, "BASE!" or even "TAG YOU'RE IT!"  
  
Finally when the sun was starting to disappear behind the horizon, Akiva said, "Hey guys! I've got to go home! Mai told me to be back before sunset! Is anyone else going to come back with me?"  
  
Jounouchi answered him saying, "Naw, we're going to stay for a little bit. We'll see you tomorrow, AK!"  
  
Akiva smiled at the nickname his friends had come up with and thought back to when they had made them up.  
  
*~*Flashback*~*  
  
Laying on their backs in the middle of a field were Jounouchi, Akiva, Honda, and Bakura. They stared up at the clouds, trying to find pictures in the different shapes.  
  
"Hey, over there is a turtle..."  
  
"Where? I don't see it..."  
  
"Over there. The big one beside that other cloud that looks like a dragon."  
  
"Oh. I see it now..."  
  
"Hey, minna (everybody)," interrupted Jounouchi.  
  
"Yeah? What's up?"  
  
"Why don't we make up nicknames for each other?"  
  
"Hey yeah! That sounds like fun!"  
  
Jounouchi was of course the first one to come up with something. "How about...Jou."  
  
"Yeah, that sounds good. I want to be BK."  
  
"Why BK Bakura?"  
  
"I don't know. Both of those letters are in my name, so BK...and it sounds cool just having initials."  
  
"Hm...he's got a point. I'll do that too. I'll be AK! Yeah, now BK and I match!" The others laughed, then everyone turned to Honda.  
  
"What about you, Honda? What do you want your nickname to be?"  
  
Said brown haired boy was thoughtful for a few minutes. The others waited for him to come up with something, forming their own ideas about what he might pick.  
  
"I know," Bakura told them, startling them all and making them jump. "How about Da!" (a/n- as in "Duh". I know, that was a really bad joke, but hey *shrugs* I need to keep myself entertained don't I?)  
  
Akiva and Jounouchi had a snickerfit while Honda glowered at Bakura.  
  
"Ok, bad idea," Bakura said then chuckled to himself.  
  
"I think I'll go with...Seulin."  
  
"What?! That doesn't have anything to do with your name!"  
  
"I think we should just stick with Honda. That way you're unique! Unlike Akiva here who had to copy me!"  
  
"Hey! Did not!"  
  
"Did too!"  
  
*~*End Flashback*~*  
  
They had finally ended up with AK, Jou, BK, and Honda. Akiva smiled at the memory and jumped when he realized he was in from of his dwelling. He had not even realized he had been walking that whole time. Akiva shook his head and stepped inside, taking off his shoes as soon as he entered.  
  
"I'm back, Mai! Mai? Where are you?"  
  
"In here, hun," Mai called from the kitchen.  
  
Akiva headed in that direction and soon found himself in front of the table, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Mai had made him a cake for his birthday. It was nothing more than sweet bread, but it was Akiva's favorite.  
  
He was speechless, but Mai seemed to understand clearly. "Well, do you care to sit down and join me in eating it or are you just going to stare at it until it molds?"  
  
Akiva looked up at his guardian and saw her smiling at him pleasantly. Akiva smiled in return and stuttered, "W-wow! Thanks, Mai!"  
  
"You're welcome! Dig in!"  
  
Akiva quickly sat down and began to devour his portion of the sweet bread in a matter of minutes. Mai laughed at his enthusiasm. When they were both finished Mai picked up the plates and gave Akiva a small nudge with her hip saying, "Get on to bed, kiddo. I'll come in there to tuck you in, in just a minute."  
  
Akiva smiled up at her and said, "Sure, thanks again, Mai!"  
  
As the young boy walked past his guardian's room to his own, Akiva felt something pulling at him. For some odd reason he had a feeling that something wanted him to go into Mai's room. Akiva stopped in the hallway and looked in. He was just standing there, staring off into space when sounds of his caretaker aroused him back to reality. He quickly made his way to his room and got ready for bed, but he could not shake the feeling that something was calling to him from Mai's room.  
  
'I'll check on it when she's asleep,' he resolved as the young maid entered his room.  
  
"Are you ready for bed?"  
  
"UN!" Akiva jumped onto his bed and giggled when it bounced underneath him. Mai smiled at his antics and pulled the covers over her little prince.  
  
When was situated and comfortable under the covers, Mai gave the small boy a peck on the forehead and left the room. Turning out the light on her way out, she whispered, "Good night watashi no tenshi." (my angel)  
  
"Niiiiiight," Akiva replied through a yawn. He closed his eyes sleepily and was soon fast asleep.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
*~*Dream Sequence*~*  
  
~Come find me~ ~You must come find me~ ~You must complete your destiny...~  
  
"Where are you?!" Akiva called. Everything was so dark around him. Why was he being kept in the dark? What was going on? Who was calling out to him and why?  
  
~You know where I am~ ~Come and find me~  
  
Akiva was beginning to grow aggravated at this voice that was calling out to him. How was he supposed to know where it was when he did not even know what it looked like? Or could not see even? He growled in aggravation.  
  
When he had finally calmed down enough (he had not heard the voice for a while) he began to grope around in the darkness for something...ANYTHING that would tell him what was going on. After several minutes of this the voice spoke again.  
  
~You must open your eyes~ ~Come find me~  
  
"But my eyes are open! Where are you?!"  
  
~Use your senses~ ~You must find me to fulfill your destiny~  
  
The word "destiny" seemed to echo around the darkness as Akiva tried to understand what was happening. 'I don't get it! What am I supposed to do?'  
  
~Open your eyes~ ~Come find me~ ~You must fulfill your destiny...~  
  
*~*End Dream Sequence*~*  
  
Akiva sat upright suddenly.  
  
"What a strange dream..." he whispered to no one in particular. Just as he was contemplating what the dream could mean he got that feeling again. Something really was calling out to him from his guardian's room.  
  
As quietly as he could manage, Akiva slipped out of bed, flinching at the coldness of the floor. He glanced over at his clock and saw that it was almost midnight. Mai would most definitely be asleep by now...would she not? He padded across his room and down the hallway till he stopped in front of the door to her room. He hesitated a moment, his hand hovering above the doorknob.  
  
Finally steeling himself up, Akiva opened the door only slightly so it would not creak and slipped in the very small space between the door and the doorframe. Looking around, he saw Mai asleep on her bed with the moonlight shining through her window. Most of the rays seemed to fall on his caretaker, but one of them...one of them fell on a chest that was at the foot of her bed. That was where the feeling seemed to be coming from. Akiva walked over and kneeled in front of it. Upon closer inspection of it, Akiva gasped silently.  
  
This was the chest that Mai had told him never to open or get into. So far he had obeyed that rule; he had no reason not to...until now.  
  
He did not want to disobey his guardian, but the feeling was getting stronger until it almost felt like an ache in his heart. He would have to open it. He frowned, but followed the pull and opened the lid. Thankfully it made no noises upon being opened.  
  
Akiva moved the items inside around it, trying to find out what he was looking for. He did not even bother to notice the clothes that were in there, which was a good thing or he might have realized they were the clothes of the king's servants. A flash of gold caught his eye as the moonbeam aided him in his search. He dug out whatever it was that he had seen and realized it was a golden box. He looked at it carefully and noticed the intricate carvings and designs all over its surface.  
  
He opened the lid of the box for a peak inside and noticed pieces of gold...like a puzzle. Akiva jumped as a dinging sound from a clock signaled the hour...midnight.  
  
A/N- Well, there you have it. Yami's finding of his Millennium Puzzle. 


	4. Putting Pieces Together

A/N- Sorry for the long wait. I was planning on updating last weekend, but I got really busy and...well, you know how it is with school and everything. Ok, I also know that it looks really weird that I keep switching the little dividing...things (for lack of better word) but I've finally figured out a way that I plan on doing it from now on. Sorry for this inconvenience. (Now it is *~***~* or *~*text*~* except at the beginning.)  
  
Ente: ^_^ I'm glad you are enjoying it so much!  
  
Mists: Well, I'm glad you like it! I had a couple friends vote on it and that's what they picked! I hope you can remember them because I can't! I always want to call them by their real names...^_^  
  
Wokie: Hey! ^_^ Yup! Ooo! Yummy! *eats some m&m's* ^_^ hehe! I'm glad you think so! Lata!  
  
anime26angel: nice name! ^_^ Glad you think so!  
  
Nekostar 2: glad you like it! ^_^  
  
Nicky: well, if you drew them it would be a lot better than if *I* drew them! ^_^ Yeah, I was thinking about the nicknames today and thought that I might not use them that much. Basically it was a way to take up space...^_^ Wow! You figured the whole Bakura Ryou thing out already?! *shakes head* I don't know how you do it...HAHA! UR forgetting them because there are no aerodynamic circles! ^O^!  
  
Subieko: Hey! ^_^ Ok, I'll try to explain this for you. They aren't really in Egypt...that's just like a setting type thing...like they don't have electricity, but they aren't really in Egypt so they can speak Japanese...does that help? I'm glad you like my writing! Well, technically speaking it would be hard since in the manga it took Yuugi 8 years to put it together all the way, but this is AU so things happen differently here...  
  
Una: Ooo! That's a lot. I don't envy you, but then again I have my own work as you already know. Glad you liked it so much! Ja. ^_^  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 4- Putting Pieces Together  
  
It was the beginning of a beautiful day as the sun started to creep up the horizon. The dark midnight blue sky started to become flecked with orange, yellow, and pink. A soft wind blew silently as it followed the floating clouds in an elegant dance around the world.  
  
Nothing stirred in the open air, but inside a beautifully crafted palace the Emperor Seto was restlessly pacing the throne room, a cowering figure bowed in respect in front of him.  
  
"Have you been able to find the two brats of the king, servant?"  
  
"N-n-no sir. N-not yet, sir."  
  
"Well? What seems to be the problem?! It's been eight years since they escaped you! What have you been doing in that amount of time?! They could be anywhere by now! You shouldn't have delayed once you found that they were missing! I WANT THEM FOUND!! Don't you realize that if we don't get rid of them before they become of age they could destroy us! You DO remember the prophecy don't you?" Seto asked his servant shrewdly.  
  
"Y-yes. B-but, but you said that that was only nonsense."  
  
"I KNOW WHAT I SAID BEFORE, THAT DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING NOW. I AM IN CHARGE HERE AND YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME NO MATTER WHAT! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" Seto roared.  
  
"Y-yes s-sir."  
  
"Good, and don't forget it again. I want you to send out your best spies to all the surrounding villages and have them search for the children. They should look similar to their father and considering his appearances they should be easily spotted. You will stay here and lead the search where I can keep my eyes on you..."  
  
The servant heard the veiled threat behind the words and shuddered.  
  
"Y-yes...s-s-sir."  
  
"Good, now get out of my sight and prepare, scum."  
  
The shaking man bowed and exited the room as quickly as he could without actually running.  
  
*~*Akiva*~*  
  
Akiva had retreated back to his room to look more closely at the strange box with carvings all over it and the interesting golden pieces that lay within, that he had discovered. Making sure his door was tightly closed, he put the box on top of his bed sheets and took off the lid, setting it down beside the box. Climbing up into the bed so he could look at his treasure properly, he began taking all the pieces carefully out of their box and spreading them out on the bed.  
  
"Sugoi! (Awesome/Amazing) It's all made out of real kin! (gold)" Akiva whispered to himself, eyes alight with happiness. "I wonder where Mai ever found this! It has to be really expensive! Hm...maybe she tried to put it together and wasn't able to so she put it away? That's it! I'll put it together and surprise her when she wakes up! She'll be so proud of me!"  
  
With this thought in mind he began looking at all the pieces trying to sort through them and put them all together before his guardian, Mai, woke up and discovered what he was up to.  
  
*~*Mitsu*~*  
  
Mitsu walked back inside the house as quietly as he could and went back into his room; never once did his eyes waver from the golden box with the puzzle pieces inside. Once he was safely back in his room, with the door closed so that no one would be privy to what he was doing, Mitsu took the puzzle box and set it on top of the bed. He opened the lid and took out all the pieces, scattering them on top of it as he laid down on his stomach, feet waving in the air, as he began the exciting task of completing a puzzle...his favorite toy.  
  
*~*Mai*~*  
  
Sunrays started peeking through the curtains of Mai's bedroom once the sun started its lonely trek up the sky. A light breeze rustled the curtains in her room so that they billowed out and became big bellied with the wanton wind. (That's from Shakespeare just so you know, starting with "and")  
  
Slowly, Mai came back to consciousness and slowly opened her bleary eyes. Taking in her surroundings, she sat up, stretched, and yawned. She threw the covers off of her lower body so that the bed's sheet formed a triangle. Then, throwing her legs over the side of the bed she put her feet on the floor only to flinch at the coolness of the ground. She then grabbed a robe that was hanging over the end of her bed and put it on over her nightclothes. Then reaching over to the other side of the bed she pulled out her slippers.  
  
Getting out of bed once more, Mai made her way down the hall to her charge's bedroom. She carelessly opened the door and stepped inside. The sight that greeted her made her eyes widen in surprise and her mouth to drop open in shock.  
  
There on the bed was Akiva, he was sprawled out on top of the sheets with the golden box she had been given by Shadi on the day the two princes were born. Shadi had told her to hide it and indeed she had, knowing Akiva would never look in her special box full of clothes and other treasures from her days of the palace, hidden all the way at the bottom, but here he was with it, the lid off to the side and the near completed contents in his hands.  
  
Akiva must have fallen asleep while putting it together because there were only three or four pieces left to go in on top of the blankets by his hand opposite the one holding a pyramid-ish shape with one point missing, still needing to be completed. She shook her head, knowing it was time, as soon as he finished the puzzle, to tell Akiva/Yami his real name and his destiny to overthrow the great evil that had taken over the world.  
  
Then something else came to Mai's attention. If Akiva/Yami had found his puzzle then his brother, the other prince Mitsu/Yugi would have found his as well. Isis would probably come to her soon. The two maids had kept in touch, telling each other about the princes' progress as they grew, and asking advice from each other on what to do about certain situations they did not know how to handle.  
  
Looking back down at Akiva/Yami she decided to write a note and send it to Isis asking about Mitsu/Yugi. Mai smiled to herself and left the room, letting the small boy in bed sleep a little longer as she closed the door softly behind her.  
  
*~*Isis*~*  
  
The horizon blushed with dawn as the sun slowly rose, illuminating Isis's room as light streamed through her window. She shuddered as a chill ran down her spine from a breeze that had crept through her slightly open window, causing her eyes to open slowly and blink to clear the sleep away. She took a deep breath of the scented air around her that smelled of all the flowers in her garden.  
  
Slowly she sat up, stretching her arms above her head as the covers slid down about her waist. Isis frowned at her shadow on the wall as she brought her arms back down to her sides. Something about the day felt out of balance as if something bad was going to happen. She usually took these thoughts seriously, but the beautiful day outside comforted her troubled notions and she pushed it to the back of her mind to deal with later.  
  
After getting out of bed, Isis dressed slowly still thinking. Yesterday had been the twins' birthday and Isis was wondering how prince Akiva/Yami was doing. She smiled at the thought of the two boys, they were such wonderful children and she was glad she was chosen to take care of Mitsu/Yugi.  
  
Isis finished dressing and pushed open her door, walking down the hall to the bedroom right beside hers, and opened the door. There, on the bed, lay Mitsu. He was slumped over something that was hidden from Isis from this angle, but as she drew closer Isis could see that it was the golden box she had hidden inside a tree. She gasped in surprise and covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide. Shadi had told her and Mai that the boys would find them and she had believed him, but there were still doubts.  
  
In his hands was an almost completed puzzle, only three or four more pieces to go until it was totally complete. It seemed that now was the time that her young charge would leave her and go off to face his destiny. It was a very despairing prospect in Isis' opinion. Knowing how the king and queen had died at the hands of Emperor Seto, and knowing that the two princes would have to leave to face off against the monster, Isis was very concerned for their well being. Isis bowed her head in submission as she remembered that it was their destiny to save the kingdom and they would not fall, but as she turned away towards the door to give the young child some more time to sleep her head shook as if she wished she could take the place of the said boy and face all the dangers she knew he would have to overcome.  
  
*~*Akiva*~*  
  
Akiva awoke to the sounds of birds chirping outside his window and looked blearily around the room. Nothing had changed since he had fallen asleep except that the room had more illumination and the door was cracked open.  
  
Wait a minute! The door was cracked open? Akiva looked again and noticed that the door was indeed not completely shut and anyone could peak in and see what he was up to. As silently as he could, Akiva moved swiftly to the door and closed it once again with a soft click. Turning back to the bed, Akiva's eyes lit up in excitement...he had nearly finished the puzzle! There were only a few pieces left and they would be easy to fit in place.  
  
In a few strides, Akiva had crossed the distance of the room and was, once again, back at his bedside. Akiva picked up the pyramid-ish shaped, golden object in his hands and felt warmth spread from the puzzle to his hand and up his arm until the feeling was swarming inside him making Akiva feel at complete ease and peace.  
  
Taking the last pieces in his other hand, Akiva started putting all the parts in their proper places until only one piece was left...  
  
*~*Mitsu*~*  
  
A soft click stirred Mitsu from his sleep and he looked around, eyes still half closed before rubbing at his eyes with his fists. Attempting to look around again, Mitsu found that he was able to see much easier so he glanced at the door, or the direction the clicking sound that had woken him up had come from. There did not appear to be anything misplaced and nothing that would make a sound like that. Mitsu frowned, wondering what the sound had been, but shrugged it off thinking he had imagined it.  
  
Mitsu sat up and stretched his arms above his head then looked down at what he had been working on the night before. He smiled in glee at the nearly whole puzzle lying on the bed in front of him. Mitsu picked it up in one hand and felt a rush of excitement and the familiar tug on his heart as it inundated him.  
  
Then with the other hand, Mitsu picked up the last pieces of the puzzle one by one and placed them in the proper slots until only the last piece remained.  
  
*~*Akiva and Mitsu*~*  
  
(a/n- I couldn't think of any other way to show you that they were putting the pieces together at the same time so this is how I'm doing it...)  
  
Gripping the last pieces tightly in their fists, Akiva and Mitsu carefully slid in the only pieces that remained.  
  
CLICK  
  
They fit...  
  
It was as if an explosion was unleashed. Raw, untamed power detonated from the puzzles and surged into the two youth as crimson and violet light surrounded them as it fled the corridors of the puzzles through the Millennium Symbols in the direct middle of the Millennium Puzzles.  
  
Mitsu glowed with an amethyst light as the room around him was pulsating with a bright white light that would blind anyone that looked at it as the same situation was occurring with Akiva and his glowing ruby aura.  
  
Akiva and Mitsu had become Yami and Yugi, the princes of the king and heirs to the throne. And it finally became their destiny to overthrow the evil that threatened the world and save the land to reclaim what had been taken from their father.  
  
*~*Emperor Seto*~*  
  
"Have you sent out any of your men yet?"  
  
"N-no sir. Th-they are waiting for your command, sir."  
  
Seto glared at the servant walking beside him and the man cringed under his fierce gaze. That's when it hit them...a wave of power so strong it knocked both men off of their feet to the ground.  
  
The servant looked all around for the disturbance, trying to find what had knocked him over, but Emperor Seto seemed to be listening to music that no one else could hear. Shaking his head, he stood up and pulled the servant to his feet.  
  
"That was not a physical attack ahou masu (pathetic fool)! That was the magic of the Millennium Puzzle being unleashed! The twins have received their power. Now we need to capture them or kill them before they learn their true destinies. It originated from the city west of the palace. I want you to check the entire village and look for anyone wearing the king's puzzle or looks like him; do you understand? Bring them back to me immediately. Do not hurt them unless you have to and make sure they don't get away."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Good, now GO!"  
  
*~*TBC*~*  
  
A/N- well, I hope you liked it. It took me forever to write because I kinda kept repeating myself with all the waking up and stuff as you could see, but we made it through. Hopefully I'll be able to do a good job on the next chapter. I'm not really sure what I want to write. Well, I hope everybody has a nice month! ^_^  
  
Until next time... 


	5. Needless Suffering

A/N- I know, I know...I'm sorry for being away so long, but my busy life got in the way...now that school is out though it shouldn't be too much of a problem...besides I got sick.  
  
Everyone: Aww...  
  
Mitsuko: Yes, I know...very sad. Especially they dreaded writer's block illness. But now I'm back and after looking at all your reviews (I was going to just stop this story, but once again when I looked at all your reviews I decided to keep going even though this story had no plot) I sat down for a while (a LONG while) and after wracking my brain for ideas came up with a plot line for the story. It's kinda shaky and I'll probably change some things along the way, but at least it is there now.  
  
Thank you all for being so patient with me and for all the reviews you sent me (otherwise there wouldn't be a story anymore) to help me keep going! You guys are the best and so...COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!

Ente: You bet it was! Especially since you don't want to write the exact same thing twice or it will get boring! Yup! Now all the fun and excitement can begin! Enjoy the chapter and thank you for reviewing!

SerafinaMoon: Yup, I'm glad you like angst, cuz there's plenty of it in this chapter! Enjoy!

Mists: Oh yeah, they'll be meeting really soon, next chapter...Hm...that's just one of those things you will have to wait and find out about! Yes, I know, I would have liked to find out what their response to what I said would have been...oh well. Uh, yeah, sorry about taking so long...Enjoy!

Subieko: I'm glad you like it so far and as for excitement, there's plenty of it in this chapter!

Hillary: Because I love cliffhangers! Yes, even when I read them. That gives me some time to use my imagination and come up with something to happen to the characters while I wait for the next update! Thanks, sorry for taking so long!

Nicky: SCHOOL'S OUT! YES!...Hm...well, that's an interesting (and amusing) way to put it, but yep, that's a basic summary! Um, yeah, sorry about the long wait, here you go!

Nekostar 2: Yes, I have read it unfortunately...I didn't like it too much, but I did like the dialogue fight between Hermia and Helena when they were calling each other names! Especially "minimus of hindering knotgrass"...I think that's how you spell it. SORRY! I'm so sorry for taking so long! I'll try to do better this time!

Wokie: Hey, I bet you're glad that I finally updated now too, huh? Neways, hope you like this new addition to the story.

Latias: I'm a girl. The information should have been in the chapter where I gave Yugi his name, I think. Since Mitsu is Japanese for "light" and can be for either male or female and then I believe I had an A/N (that was interesting) that said that I got Mitsuko from that, which means "child of light" and is for femals? I'm pretty sure I put that in there. Hm...maybe I erased it, but anyways...I know! I hate it when it does that! When it cuts off the chapter! That makes me so mad!...HAHAHA!! I'll try my best to update, but no promises. Here it is! Sorry for taking so long! Enjoy!  
  
I'd also like to inform you all that I have created another story in my time away since I couldn't think of anything to write for this one. It's called Odd Elements and it's another Alternate Universe, but different from this one...I'd appreciate it if you would all just pop over and take a look. You might find that you like it! Anyways...enjoy the new, long awaited, chapter!

* * *

Chapter 5- Needless Suffering

* * *

'I can't believe he actually put it all together! Of course Shadi did say that when he became of age he would be able to find it and harness its power.' Isis shook her head in disbelief as she dried a dish with a damp cloth.  
  
When she finally finished washing the dishes, Isis walked over to the kitchen window and looked out into the veranda in the back. Noticing Mitsu engaging Anzu and Ryou in a game of hide-and-go-seek around the backyard, she chuckled to herself.  
  
After watching the laughing children run around and tag each other when they were found for a few minutes, Isis turned around and walked into her bedroom. As she went to sit on the bed, she noticed something out the window and rushed over to it, looking out. A plume of smoke was rising above houses in the village.  
  
Sprinting out of the room, Isis called in the children. After telling them she was going over to a neighbor's house and that she would be right back, Isis hurried out the front door and over to the disturbance.  
  
She ran down the main lane, past five houses, until she came to an intersection. After turning to the right and following the pillar of smoke in the air, Isis stopped in horror at the decimation she saw before her.  
  
Every neat, well-organized house from the entrance to the village, to a dozen homes down from it on either side of the road lay in ruins. The charred, blackened remains of frames sticking out and bloodied bodies strewn across the road, the families that had once lived inside of the houses.  
  
Not too far from where Isis was standing was a horde of guards, all on horses, terrorizing the residents of the last, still burning house. Quickly ducking behind a mud-brick wall, Isis watched and listened to the conversation passing between the two men standing before her.  
  
The father stood in front of one soldier, sitting atop a magnificent white horse, protesting against the soldier's claim while his wife and child huddled together behind him, in the distance flames licked the edges of the house, reducing it to a pile of rubble.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," the father said, his voice wavering in fear.  
  
"Don't lie to us! We know you're hiding the former king's son! We'll find him around here somewhere! How could you not know he was here?! Now tell us where he is!!"  
  
"He is not around here! We are not hiding him anywhere, perhaps you would do well to look somewhere else!" the father replied, his voice strained.  
  
"The Emperor told us that he felt the boy's magic and that it originated from this area. Now you are going to tell us what we want to know or you and your family can join your neighbors in the afterlife.  
  
"For the last time! I do not know where he is!"  
  
The guard glowered at the father before scornfully telling his comrades, "Dispose of him and seize his family."  
  
Four of the surrounding men clomped forward on their horses and rammed him through with their swords so that he fell onto the ground in a bloody heap while the others went for his wife and young daughter.  
  
Isis could watch no longer and went back to her house swiftly. She had to get Yug-Mitsu out of here before the soldiers discovered him. Isis ran back the way she came and had almost reached the house when she saw Mitsu, Anzu, and Ryou outside in the front yard, looking around for her.  
  
What scared her even more where the figures sitting on horses that were heading right for the three children. At this Isis ran full out to the prince and his friends as she waved her arms violently in warning. When Mitsu and the others saw her they began waving back in greeting and Mitsu began to run forward towards her.  
  
He did not make it ten steps before the lead soldier reached down from his horse and hauled the boy up by his arms. Mitsu looked panicked and tried to fight. The man simply slapped him across the face, leaving a bright red handprint on the side of his face.  
  
"NOOO!" Isis screamed as the other men merely laughed at her plight.  
  
Mitsu struggled more at the sound of his guardian's voice, but the rider hit him on the back of the head with his dagger hilt so that the young child slumped forward, unconscious.  
  
Immediately, Isis ran at the horsemen to fight against them even in the hopeless situation. They simply looked down at her before hitting out and knocking her to the ground where she stayed...motionless.  
  
Anzu and Ryou ran over and began shaking her shoulder and yelling for her to get up. Anzu had tears in her eyes and sniffled continuously, pausing every once and awhile from her shaking to wipe at her eyes as she cried for her kidnapped friend.  
  
It only took a few minutes before Isis finally woke up. She stirred, causing the youngsters to stop pushing on her, and groaned, putting a hand to her head as she sat up.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked the children beside her as she unsteadily got to her feet.  
  
"We're fine, ma'am," Ryou said as Anzu just cried. "They took Mitsu though."  
  
"Is he going to be ok?" Anzu asked, tear tracks marring her angelic face.  
  
"I don't know, young ones. I need to go get help to get him out of there. Will you come?" she asked, looking around and noticing that her house and her neighbors' houses were all burning as well.  
  
"Hai," Ryou responded, Anzu merely nodded her head.  
  
"Good, let us go."

* * *

The small, huddled form of Mitsu groaned as he returned to consciousness. The back of his head hurt from being hit and his left are was stiff from laying on it while it was tied to his other hand behind his back.  
  
Slowly, wearily, Mitsu opened his eyes and noticed his surroundings. He was lying on a cold, stone floor. Water had gathered in the areas between the crags that made up the floor and made small puddles all over the room in the indentions or cups in the ground.  
  
Bars fitted close together, across the only open wall, prevented the small child from any escape. There was barely any light, just one small, flickering candle positioned into a stand on the opposite wall of the corridor leading through the dungeons, past all the cells.  
  
Waking up fully, Mitsu attempted to sit up, only to fall back down without the aid of his hands. Shaking his head to clear it, Mitsu tried again; he turned over onto his back, and bringing his knees up to his chest, pulled his arms under his feet so they were in front of him instead of behind his back.  
  
(A/N- I actually got down on the floor to do this to figure out how to explain it...I'm pitiful...)  
  
When that task was accomplished, he was able to use his hands to push himself up into a sitting position. After looking around to make sure there was nobody nearby, he began pulling at the ropes that bound him with his teeth, trying to untie it to gain any kind of advantage he could in his situation. It took a bit of effort to maneuver the rope with just his teeth, but with one final tug, his hands were free.  
  
The skin around his wrists were angry and red from the harsh treatment needed to get the rope free and bruises were starting to form where he had pulled on it the most, but Mitsu ignored the pain and quickly hid his hands behind his back, holding the rope in his hands when he heard the "Slap, slap, slap," of shoes echoing around the corridor.  
  
A tall shadow made its way along the wall, coming ever closer until a single man stood in front of the prison cell. His face a sinister example of autocracy, body rigidly straight and finely toned, a royal warrior. His light blue eyes, as cold as ice, glared down at the frightened boy, his face plastered into a sneer, top lip curled in distaste as his robes swirled about him sinisterly.  
  
"W-w-what do you w-want with me?" Mitsu stammered weakly.  
  
"You, boy, have something that I want."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Silence! I will ask the questions!" After a moment's pause, the dark man opened the door and stepped into the room. "Where is the Millennium Puzzle?"  
  
Completely baffled, Mitsu blinked, cocked his head to the side so that a single blonde strand of hair fell into his face, and after brushing it away, asked, "What's that?"  
  
The glare directed at him became fiercer and the dark man's voice hardened. "That is the legacy passed down to you from your father the king."  
  
"The king?"  
  
This seemed to surprise the stranger, Mitsu thought, from the unguarded expression that flickered across his face, but it soon vanished, replaced with the cold look that had resided on his features before.  
  
"Yes, the king. I assume you have not been told by your guardian of the past events that took place to make you an orphan?" At Mitsu's puzzled expression he inquired, "What is your name?"  
  
"Mitsu," he replied meekly.  
  
"Hm."  
  
With this new information the dark man quickly exited the room. Mitsu sighed in relief and relaxed his shoulders only to grow tense once more when two pairs of footsteps could be heard down the hall, coming towards him.  
  
Two guards stopped in front of his cell and as one held the door open, the other walked in reaching for Mitsu's arm. Reflexes kicked in and he jumped up, pushing the guard away as hard as he could before running off out the open door. The sentinel, too stunned from the surprise attack to act quickly enough was not able to grab Mitsu as he ran past.  
  
Unfortunately for the young boy, the other guard was ready and waiting. As soon as Mitsu stepped past the threshold of the cell door, he found himself picked off the ground with one of the soldier's big, hairy arms around his neck. His muscles rippled as he opened the door once more for the other man that had been locked inside once the door closed back.  
  
Together, with the young boy, the duo walked menacingly down the corridor and into a brightly lit room where the dark man was waiting, arms crossed over his chest. The two guards each took one of Mitsu's arms and placed them in cuffs attached to a steel table that was standing straight up in the middle of the room.  
  
They pressed his face into the biting, cold flat of the bench as they fixed some sort of belt around his waist and locked his ankles in cuffs as well. With that done, one of them ripped open the back of Mitsu's shirt so that his back was uncovered. When their job was finished, the dark man dismissed the two guards to wait outside the door while he conducted his interrogation.  
  
Mitsu was shaking uncontrollably now in fear; unable to suppress his shivers, Mitsu attempted to look around to see where the dark man was, but the position he was forced into prevented him from getting a lock on the other man's whereabouts. From the sound of his shoes on the polished floor, he was pacing around Mitsu, probably still glaring coldly.  
  
Slap.  
  
Slap.  
  
Slap.  
  
Mitsu jumped at the unexpected sound of the dark man hitting something against the palm of his hand and whimpered before he could clamp his mouth shut. The man simply laughed, shooting chills up Mitsu's spine and raising the hairs on the back of his neck.  
  
"I can see you are already anticipation what is coming next."  
  
Mitsu could not stop the tremor from running through his body, he was shaking in outright fear now.  
  
"Now, you say you do not know what the Millennium Puzzle is and yet I felt the power that surged from it when you put all the pieces together."  
  
It was the golden puzzle! The one that he had found in the tree of the veranda in the back of the house! No matter what, Mitsu decided, I cannot let him get it. He is evil and if it has some kind of special power that he wants, then no matter what he MUST NOT GET IT!  
  
"Once it is completed it looks like a pyramid turned upside-down. It has eye decoration in the middle and what appear to be markings all around it on the edges. I know that you know where it is because there is no one besides the king's heirs that would be able to put it together.  
  
"Since you look exactly like a cross between your dear mother and father, I know this is you and since I felt the power from the completion of the puzzle come from the immediate area that you were found. I have no doubt that you are one of the king's sons, although whether you are Yugi or Yami I cannot tell as I was not present when you were named. This means that you were the one to put all the pieces together and know where it resides. Now tell me, where is the Millennium Puzzle?"  
  
"I don't know," Mitsu lied, gritting his teeth together for what came next. The crack of a whip split the air and Mitsu had to bite his lower lip to keep from crying out in pain from the laceration on his back.  
  
"Wrong answer. Care to try again?" the dark man asked in a calm voice that one would think would be used to discuss the weather, not initiating an interrogation.  
  
"I've already told y-Ahhhhhh!"

* * *

The guards awaiting orders outside the questioning room heard nothing except for screams coming from inside the chamber for two hours before Emperor Seto finally exited, hands clasped behind his back, shoulders straight-backed and proud.  
  
"Retrieve him and put him back in his cell. I've scheduled his execution for tomorrow at sunset. You will get him and take him to the outer court then. Dismissed."  
  
The two men watched their leader's retreating back as he floated down the hall, his robes billowing out behind him. When he finally disappeared around the corner they entered the interrogation room to see the young boy they had brought in earlier in a bad state.  
  
His back was covered in gashes as blood streamed down his back from the cuts, soaking his remaining clothes and forming a small puddle beneath his feet. A sheen of sweat coated his face and matted his bangs to his forehead.  
  
Looking around the room, the men saw the method used for the questioning lying on the floor. Coiled up like a snake ready to reach out and strike in the blink of an eye laid the motionless whip, the tip covered in a sticky red solution. Small dots of splattered blood were splayed across the floor from the numerous hits the boy's back received. All in all, it was a pitiful sight to behold.  
  
The two men worked together to remove the boy from the table's clutches and then hauled him back down the hallway to his holding cell before depositing him on the middle of the floor and leaving the way they had come, neither saying a word to the other as their footsteps resounded around the dungeons becoming faint until the only sound remaining was the labored breathing of the prince.

* * *

To Be Continued

* * *

A/N- Well, I hope this chapter was satisfactory. I tried, but my writing seems to be a little rusty from not being used in a while. Anyways, R/R and don't forget to check out my new story Odd Elements!  
  
Ja ne!  
  
Mitsuko-chan 


	6. A Startling Revelation

A/N- Hey, minna! Sorry for being away so long. Summer is a busy time for me and I don't usually get many chances to write. Thank you all for being patient with me; here is the chapter you have all been waiting for! Enjoy!

* * *

Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Wokie: Don't worry, now that I have a plot, I'm not going to give up on it, but those bouts of writer's block don't help to speed up the writing process. Sorry for taking so long, but here you are. I'm so glad you like my story!  
  
Nicky: Wow, it's been a long time! School starts real soon! Did you take creative writing or have you already had it? I've got it for second semester...uh, do you even have your schedule yet? Man, I really need to check my e-mail! I've probably got 200 notes to read! Haha! I LOVE your reviews! They're always so energetic! It reminds me of me on a sugar rush, don't ya think? Hope you like this chap!  
  
Pharaoh Atemu's Angel: Nice name! I'm glad you found this story and even gladder (is that a real word?) that you like it! I hope you keep reviewing!  
  
Subieko: I torture him because I love him to death...makes no sense I know, but I'm a BIG angst fan I guess you could say...can't tell you, but it really doesn't matter because you'll find out this chapter! Wow, you really think so! Thank you so much!!  
  
Mists: Hehe, I'm evil, I know! Don't worry too much about the characters. They have to last to the end of the story after all...(blushes) Thank you!!  
  
Ente: (blushes) heh, yeah, I'm still alive and kick'n not that you would be able to tell by my super long absence! Sorry about that. Well, here it is! The next chapter you were so anxious about! Enjoy**!

* * *

Yami mata Hikari no Tenshis  
By: Mitsuko-chan  
Chapter 6**- **A Startling Revelation

* * *

**A golden orb stood, suspended in the center of the stretched out, blue canvas, painted with fluffy, white clouds drifting across the view. The sky stood out starkly in a bright, serene contrast to the decimation of the village below.  
  
Many houses lay in ruins while crimson and ginger flames still greedily devoured others. Smoke hung thick in the air surrounding the village in a big, billowing haze shielding the dead bodies from view. The massacre that had taken place that morning left nothing except death and destruction in its wake. Only three survived the onslaught.  
  
Isis, Anzu, and Ryou crouched behind a bush in the front yard of the place Isis and Mitsu had called home for eight years. Isis was peaking through the foliage at the few remaining soldiers that were left to make sure there was no one left alive.  
  
The men were loitering around, talking idly back and forth in a secret dialogue with a foreign dialect. They were ignorant of their surroundings and Isis intended to take advantage of that.  
  
"Ok, Ryou, Anzu, listen very carefully to what I have to say. We are going to sneak over there and take their horses-"  
  
"But there's only two of them," Anzu interrupted.  
  
"Yes, you'll ride with me Anzu and Ryou, I've heard that you learned how to ride recently?"  
  
"Hai."  
  
"Good, now both of you follow my silently."  
  
Isis started out around the outer edge of the yard when she felt something pulling her back inside the house. Brushing it off as thinking she had just forgotten to do something, she headed on, but the force returned stronger and fiercer than before.  
  
Looking back at the house, it seemed to almost glow with a golden light. It was then that she realized Mitsu, no Yugi, had left his Millennium Puzzle inside on his bed before going off to play with his friends.  
  
She had to go back and get it. The king had died to keep the puzzle and the secret, ancient power within it away from Emperor Seto and she was going to make sure it never fell into the hands of him or his lackeys.  
  
"Wait here a moment," Isis told the children before rushing off back into the house, which was wreathed in flame.  
  
Discreetly, she made it to the front door. Pulling the top of her dress up over her nose, she slammed the door open and hurried inside as smoke poured out the door in waves. Despite her precautions, Isis started choking on the thick fumes as her eyes burned and stung, watering, making it difficult to see where she was going.  
  
Isis burst into Yugi's room, which, oddly enough, seemed to have not been touched by the smoke or fire. Not stopping to ponder this, Isis closed the distance between herself and the bed, picking up the Millennium Puzzle, and throwing it around her neck. As soon as she left with the puzzle the room began to burn, unnoticed by anyone.  
  
Back outside, Isis tried hard to get her breath back as she was starting to feel lightheaded and dizzy from the smoke she had inhaled. Once her strength was renewed, the trio started onward, towards the two idle soldiers.  
  
Swinging around in an arch—so as not to attract any unwanted attention—the three circumspectly slunk towards the two horses. Never taking their eyes off the two guards, Isis led the couple of children with her, darting from bush to bush and burning house to burning house.  
  
Coming up behind the horses and guards, hidden just out of sight beneath an overgrown fern, Isis instructed the Anzu and Ryou to stay down while she untied the harnesses from a pole that prevented the horses from running off on their own.  
  
Isis led the two animals closer to the fern and muttered, "If only we could have a distraction."  
  
Just then one of the houses that were still on fire exploded and sent debris flying in all directions. The twin soldiers ducked, looking in the direction of the explosion, giving the trio just enough time to hop onto the mares and take off. In all the confusion and chaos no one noticed the dimming glow of the Millennium Puzzle.

* * *

"Sugoi (Amazing/Awesome), Mai-san! Your cooking is wonderful!"  
  
"Arigatou (Thank you), Jounouchi. You are welcome to come over and eat whenever you want."  
  
Jounouchi smiled widely before saying, "Do Itashimashite (You're welcome)!"  
  
Yami had invited all of his friends over for dinner and they were now sitting around a rectangular table in the dinning hall. Finally finishing, Akiva, Jounouchi, Honda, and Bakura retreated into the living room to play games.  
  
"Let's get out the Astragal (sort of like dice)!" suggested Honda.  
  
"Iie (No), we always play that! How about tag, AK?"  
  
"We aren't supposed to run in the house remember? I don't want to get in trouble again. Last time was bad enough."  
  
"Yeah, sorry about that, AK, so no tag."  
  
"Ok, how about-"  
  
Bakura was unable to finish as a loud banging sound filled the hall. The four friends rushed out into the hall to see Mai hurrying out of the kitchen towards the door. They stood framed in the doorway as the door was opened and Mai was almost hit in the face by the lady that was revealed.  
  
Mai gasped, hissing, "What are you doing here?"  
  
More whispered words were her answer and the lady and two children were ushered into the house, door shut tightly behind them.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Mitsu put the-"  
  
"Mitsu?"  
  
"Yugi. He put the puzzle together and the Emperor must have felt something. This morning he sent soldiers and took him. There is nothing left of our town. We were the only ones to get away. We have to get to him before Seto kills him."  
  
"Where did they take him?"  
  
"The Imperial City. We have to get him out of there at all costs. You know what is at stake in this!"  
  
"Isis, calm down. Don't worry, we'll find a way to save him, nothing will happen to him."  
  
"You're right. I'm acting rash."  
  
"Here, come into the dinning room and I'll introduce you. Then we can tell the children all they need to know."  
  
Akiva and the others scurried back into the room. His friends stood by the fire as Akiva puzzled over the strange people that had dropped in on them. It seemed almost as if Mai knew them, but that could not be right.  
  
As far as Akiva knew, Mai had not made any friends or even been around anyone besides the neighbors ever since he had come to live with her. This woman was obviously not from around the area they were living in and had probably traveled here from far away.  
  
And the strange conversation that had taken place, who was Yugi or Mitsu? Who was this Emperor and Seto? And the woman had said this Yugi person had put a puzzle together the night before. Could it have something to do with the puzzle Akiva had put together at the same time? What was going on?!  
  
Mai entered the room, followed by the two children with her. Crossing the threshold, Isis noticed Akiva standing in the middle of the room. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak.  
  
"Ya-...ano (um/er)...you, what's your name little one?" she corrected.  
  
Akiva gave her an look that she could not interpret before looking to Mai who nodded. "Akiva," he replied curtly, still wary of the stranger in the doorway.  
  
She nodded politely and said, "Isis, it is a pleasure to meet you aga- ...ano...to meet you."  
  
Akiva looked at her oddly once more and she cleared her throat uncomfortably. Changing the subject she said, "This is Anzu and Ryou," as she introduced the two children standing with her as they came into the room uncertainly.  
  
They all nodded politely to Anzu and Ryou, but then did a double-take and stared at the albino boy.  
  
"Ano...konnichiwa (hello)" the one called Ryou said, uncomfortable with all the stares in his direction. He blushed and lowered his chocolate brown eyes to the floor to avoid the gazes.  
  
Bakura stepped out of a shadowed corner of the room and asked, "What is your last name?" never taking his eyes from the boy in front of him that looked like his twin.  
  
"Kage," Ryou meekly replied, looking up to gasp at the sight of his replica.  
  
"Interesting..." Bakura drawled.  
  
Everyone was looking between the two, confusion clearly written on the faces of Isis and Anzu while the others merely looked puzzled.  
  
"What's interesting?" Ryou asked in a small, shy voice.  
  
"That just happens to be my last name too. Who did you live with?"  
  
"My-my mother," Ryou stuttered.  
  
Bakura seemed to smile at this. "I always wondered where my mother had run off to with my little brother."  
  
Ryou's eyes widened and he choked out, "W-w-w-what?!"  
  
Bakura's eyes softened somewhat and he replied, "I'm Bakura, your brother. My father told me that a long time ago that he got into a fight with my mother and that she had left, taking my younger brother with her. I always wondered about that, now here you are. Standing here in front of me and I didn't even need to go out looking for you like I had planned on doing when I became old enough."  
  
Ryou's eyes seemed to fill with tears at the story and he rushed over to Bakura and hugged him tight. "S-s-she's gone and n-now she can't c-c-come back anymore!"  
  
Bakura looked taken aback by this sudden display, but he patted Ryou on the back and led him over to one of the chairs to sit down.  
  
"Well, this is an interesting turn of events. It seems that two lost brothers have been found," Mai said mysteriously.  
  
Akiva was confused. What was Mai talking about? Was she just saying that Ryou and Bakura had each been a brother lost to each other and now they had finally found the other or was she saying someone else had a lost brother? It just did not make any sense at all.  
  
"Sit down everybody. I'm afraid I have some bad news I have to tell and it has to be done quickly so I want no interruptions."  
  
Everyone hastened to follow Mai's directions. Once everybody had done what she said, Mai began.  
  
"Ok, as you all know, this is Isis Ishtar. She's a friend of mine from a long time ago before any of you were born. Both of us were charged with the care taking of a boy. Very similar these boys were, in appearance, in heritage, and in fate.  
  
"Their parents were killed by their father's best friend, Seto, and we had to flee our home with these two boys to make sure they stayed safe, but with the death of their parents Seto gained power. Using this power he became the ruler of Imperial City and has now used his power to kidnap Isis's ward, Yugi or Mitsu.  
  
"What I need is your help to get him back children. Bakura, Honda, Jou, I know each of you have learned fighting skills and I have taught Akiva as well. We will need these skills to help recover Yugi from Emperor Seto. Will you help?"  
  
Immediately they jumped up and cried their agreement.

* * *

A brick wall lined the perimeters of the square as people gathered, clustered around a raised, stone platform where a long shaft of wood protruded into the air. Smaller sticks and logs of wood surrounded the shaft, leaning against it in the form of a tepee, ready to be ignited and burn the person tied to the protruding log to ashes.  
  
Akiva and everyone else stayed hidden in the shadows of the surrounding wall, bidding their time, waiting for the right opportunity to spring their trap and save Yugi/Mitsu.  
  
They did not have to wait long; soon they saw a small boy with tri-colored hair being led out of the palace into the courtyard towards the stake. A tall, dark-headed man dressed in finery headed the procession, his expression grim and stoic.  
  
The man stepped onto the platform and faced the crowd of eager onlookers as the two guards that flanked him fanned out on either side of him, looking out for any possible assassins that might be after the man.  
  
The man cleared his throat and everyone fell silent.  
  
"Good evening," the man said in a solemn tone that annoyed Akiva. "We have gathered here for the execution of a rebel. When interrogated, this rebel withheld vital information and is therefore sentenced to death by burning."  
  
The man inclined his head to someone behind him and two more guards climbed up onto the platform dragging the small boy behind them. Whispers and muttering broke out all around Akiva when the people saw the rebel as a child.  
  
"How can someone like that have vital information?"  
  
"Who cares how?"  
  
"It's not just to kill children!"  
  
"Emperor Seto is always right. If he says this is a rebel with vital information, we should believe him and respect his decision!"  
  
That shut everyone up; Akiva merely rolled his eyes and directed his gaze to study the boy. Holding back a gasp he saw that the boy looked like an exact replica of him only smaller and sweeter looking. It was almost the same as when he had seen Bakura and Ryou meeting. So this was his brother.  
  
Idly Akiva wondered if they were twins, but he focused once more on the task at hand as Yugi/Mitsu was tied to the stake and the soldiers readied their torches to light the fire and set the boy ablaze.  
  
Akiva readied himself for a fight as he looked around at all of the others in their positions. Finally, his gaze settled on Mai, just like everyone else, waiting for the signal.  
  
Scarlet and gold flames erupted out of Akiva's peripheral vision and Mai waved. Jounouchi, the only one to have had training with a bow and arrow, shot at the platform to distract the guards.  
  
The reaction was instantaneous. Emperor Seto's personal guards stepped in front of him while the two of the soldiers that had dragged Yugi/Mitsu up escorted him safely into the palace.  
  
Akiva ran forward, a sword in hand like Bakura and Honda, as it was commonplace to teach swordsmanship to young boys in their town. Jounouchi scattered the crowd and kept many of the guards at bay that were trying to swarm into the courtyard.  
  
Mai and Akiva ran to the platform immediately. Akiva reached Yugi/Mitsu first and cut the bindings. He would have fallen forward onto the flame if it had not been for Mai reaching them at that exact moment and catching him in her arms.  
  
Mai and Akiva nodded to each other and called to the others to retreat. Akiva led the way, Mai behind him with Bakura and Honda on either side, and Jounouchi bringing up the rear.  
  
They battled their way through the surprised soldiers that were making their way onto the grounds and back to their horses where Isis, Anzu, and Ryou were waiting for them.  
  
Leaping up on their horses they rode away, full gallop with an army of soldiers chasing after them, at least twenty or thirty on horses and still more on foot. Akiva frowned and looked over at Mai.  
  
"How is he?"  
  
"Not good. It looks like he's been beaten before they brought him out. If we don't get him help soon...he won't make it."  
  
Isis and Ryou gasped while Anzu's eyes filled with crystalline tears that threatened to fall down her peach cheeks. (Anzu means peach BTW)  
  
"It would help if we weren't being followed so we could actually get him back so he could receive help!" Akiva shot to the others.  
  
Bakura, Honda, and Jounouchi nodded their agreement.  
  
"Ugh, I wish we could get away from them," Akiva muttered to himself and to his enormous amazement the puzzle he had put together began to glow a deep, rich golden color and a bright beam of light shot back towards the way they came.  
  
Looking back, the group noticed the army of soldiers seemed to run into an invisible wall and were not able to chase them any further.

* * *

A/N- Wow, that took forever to write for some odd reason. I'm so sorry, guys! This chapter just didn't want to be written, I'm telling you! Well, I'm glad I finally got it done and now I can put it up! (I'm sure all of you are happy as well.) Maybe I'll become more organized by the time school starts?  
  
Well, that's all for now. Please review!


	7. Lost Secrets Unveiled

**Title:** ©Yami mata Hikari no Tenshis

**Author:** Mitsuko-chan

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-gi-oh!, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this story.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the making process of this story.

**Chapter 7: Lost Secrets Unveiled

* * *

**

Mai stepped out of Akiva's bedroom, closing the door softly behind her, trying not to disturb Yugi, Akiva, or any of Yugi's friends. Isis, who was inquiring after Yugi's condition, immediately waylaid her.

"How is he?" she asked.

Mai sighed, wondering how much to tell her. Figuring that she would find out anyway, she said, "He's okay for the moment; he's comfortable for now. I've done all I can for him, but I'm going to have to tell you: if we don't find him a professional healer, he might not wake up."

Isis gasped at Mai's blunt statement, bringing a hand to her mouth to stifle the noise, as tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Mai whispered to her, "there's nothing else I can do..."

With that, she sidestepped her peer and started for the living room. Just as she reached the threshold, she was stopped by the scream from behind her. She quickly spun around and, immediately, her jaw dropped open at the sight behind her.

The air in front of Isis was shimmering and swaying like the tossing and turning of the ocean's waves, almost as if a hole were being ripped in the very air itself. Before long, the middle of the ripple began to split and a tear formed. Only seconds later, a figure stepped out of the hole, revealing...

"Shadi-sama!" Isis breathed. "W-what, what are you doing here?! The last time we saw you was the night of the King and queen's death. What's going on?"

"The princes have received and solved their puzzles, now it is time for them to fulfill their destinies," he said in his mystical, baritone voice.

"But Mitsu...he...he was injured, he might not wake up."

Shadi captured her with his piercing stare for a moment before calmly stating, "I have come to heal the young prince and tell the children of their mission. Yugi will not be dying on this day."

Almost as if an immense weight had been lifted from Isis' shoulders, she sagged against the wall with relief, closing her eyes and whispering something none of them could hear, her hand covering her heart before she stood up – the determination and life returning to her eyes.

Shadi nodded once to them then opened the door and stepping in, followed by Mai and Isis.

They all watched as he swept through the room, crossing to the bed in three quick strides. He stood beside the bed for a minute, a look of concentration etched onto his features as if he were trying to find the answer to a complicated question.

Mai thought he might have been trying to discern what was wrong as she watched him open his eyes once more and begin running his hands up and down the length of Yugi's body without actually touching him.

Finally, they came to rest above his chest, directly in front of his heart and begin to pulsate with a glowing, white light.

Mai noted the changes that swept through Yugi's body. The color returned to his pale cheeks and his blue tinged lips began to redden once again, while the purple bags under his eyes disappeared and his breathing steadied from fast, hitching gasps to a more regular pattern.

A sigh from behind Mai sounded like a gunshot in the completely silent room, startling everyone except for Shadi and the small figure on the bed, causing Mai to release the breath she had not realized she had been holding.

Mai looked over at Isis and the little girl named Anzu that was one of Yugi's friends. They were both holding onto each other as if their life depended on it. Anzu was crying for her friend and Isis still had tears in her eyes as she comforted the girl and showered her with placating words.

Everyone looked back up at the bed as they heard a low moan emanating from that direction. Yugi's eyes were slowly opening, showing shinning amethyst orbs to the room's occupants.

"Daijobou desu ka? (Are you alright?)" Shadi asked the child, not in his usual mystical tone, but rather, in a soothing type of voice.

Yugi started to nod, but stopped suddenly, bringing a hand up to his head and clutching the sheets with his other fist.

"How do you feel? Does anything hurt?"

"My head, but everything else is okay."

Shadi helped Yugi to sit up in bed and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. Yugi swung his legs over the side, preparing to stand up, but Shadi put pressure on his shoulder, whispering a quick, "Not yet," before placing his hand gently across Yugi's bare back.

Yugi hissed in pain and Shadi lifted his hand, nodding to the child.

Turning to address the room as a whole, he said, "Yugi will be fine. His head will ache for a while more and there will be a lingering tenderness in his back, but other than that he should be back to normal."

"Now," he stated, extending his hand toward the door, indicating that they should all leave the room, "we shall discuss what is going on in the world. If you would all follow me, we should take this in the other room and settle in comfortably. This will take some time."

Once they were all seated comfortably in the living area, Shadi began his tale.

"For those of you that do not know, I will begin my story at the beginning. Long ago, there was once a King that commanded a great nation. He had in his possession an item that granted him immense power, so that no other realm or country could contend with this King's might.

"He, as all Kings do, had a royal court, made up of his most trusted followers and friends. His High Priest was his very best friend and had the highest position that was available, short of being royalty.

"Both the King and his High Priest were very well known and had substantial influence over the kingdom, but soon, the King's friend grew jealous of the King's greater position and the power that he held over the High Priest.

"He coveted the item that gave the King his power and conspired to steal the item away from his friend, kill him, and take up his position and use his power and influence to rule the rest of the world as well.

"His plan, of course, took time, thoughtful planning, and preparation. While the High Priest drew up his plans to carry out his machinations, the King and his wife became excited with anticipation of the birth of their twin sons.

"The High Priest knew that with the birth of these boys, if the King perished, they would in turn inherit the kingdom as well as the King's item of power. He added to his plot the deaths of these two princes.

"As time grew closer for the King's sons to be born, the King and his wife began to grow suspicious of the High Priest's activities and they began to suspect his undermining of their authority. They formed a plan to destroy the sacred item their family held to keep it out of the hands of those that sought its power.

"Finally, when the time came for the twins to be born, everyone was excited and prepared, and not all of them were for the same things. The very night the princes were born the High Priest and the army he had gathered against the King invaded killing the King and his wife and the sacred item was destroyed, broken into numerous pieces.

"The death of the two boys, however, never came about, as the palace guards were able to alert their king of the danger before they ever made it in. The King and his wife gave their boys to two of their attending maidservants, sending them off on their own ways to take care of and raise the children to the best of their ability.

"Before they went their separate ways, they came to me, seeking guidance. I gave them some advice as well as two separate parts of the family's sacred item. It was still in pieces, but the princes would one day have the power to put them together again. I told the maidservants to hide the sacred items so the princes would find them when the time was right to put the pieces back together again.

"I was right, after eight years, both of the boys, on the night of their birthday at midnight, found the hiding places and completed the task of putting the Puzzle together. The power that filled these boys with the completion of the Puzzle was felt by all magical beings in the realm.

"The former High Priest and new King or Emperor – Seto – also felt the surge of magic and attacked the village of the nearest prince, killing almost everyone in the town and capturing the youngest prince, torturing him for information about the Puzzle.

"Luckily, Prince Yugi did not have the Puzzle on his person when he was taken and could not give it to Emperor Seto. Now, as you all know, his guardian, one of the maidservants, – Isis Ishtar – found the Puzzle and came to her friend, the maidservant of Prince Yami – Mai Kajako – and told her of what had transpired.

"Then all of you planned a rescue and brought Prince Yugi back."

"That's a great story," Yami stated, his expression confused and accusing, "but what does that have to do with anything?"

Shadi stared at Yami intensely until the young prince quailed under his gaze and lowered his eyes, abashed at his bold statement.

"A long time ago, a prophecy was made about twins that would be born. Once they completed the Puzzle, they would have the power to pass judgment on evil and save the world from darkness. Do you not see it yet?"

When Yami shook his head Shadi continued.

"You Prince Yami and Prince Yugi are the ones that will save the kingdom from Emperor Seto."

Silence greeted Shadi after his statement, and he sighed in exasperation.

"What exactly does the Prophecy say?" asked Jounouchi timidly.

The airy, mystical tone of voice answered, saying,

"_There will be two_

_Though they are two they are one_

_Though they are one they are two_

_The light and the dark_

_When fused together they will calm the chaos_

_The light is the key while the dark is the sacrifice_

_The puzzle is the power and the power is the puzzle_

_The puzzle must be solved for light to infuse with dark_

_It is written in the PERT EM HRU_

_The one who solves the puzzle_

_Shall inherit the Shadow Games_

_He becomes the guardian of right and passes judgment on evil._"

Once he had finished, everyone remained silent; all of them were staring at Shadi uncomfortably. Finally one of Yami's friends became brave enough to break the stillness.

"So, uh, what is that supposed to mean?" asked Honda shifting in his seat as Shadi's gaze locked onto him.

"That," Shadi began slowly, "is the enigma that must be solved by the Princes. I must tell you, however, that the secret will not be discovered by waiting here. After his failure to find and claim the power of the Puzzle as his own, Emperor Seto has discovered more ancient items that will give him power. Each item is powerful in its own right, but once combined with others their might is almost unstoppable. If Emperor Seto finds all of these items he could rule the world and nothing would be able to stop him."

"What items are these, Shadi-sama?" inquired Isis sharply, her eyes wide with surprise and fear.

"These are the Millennium Items. Your Puzzle," Shadi indicated the golden pyramids held by Yami and Yugi, "is one of these mystical items – the Millennium Puzzle. It has the power to control the greatest of all Shadow Beasts – the legendary Exodia. Exodia can obliterate whole cities in a matter of minutes. That is the great power that your father, the King, used to conquer other realms and countries."

"Why do you keep referring to it as _the_ Puzzle? There's two of them, not one."

"Like I insinuated before, when it was in the King's possession, it was a single item. When he smashed it into its smaller components, it came to me. I used magic to make an exact copy. After all, as it says in the Prophecy, '_Though they are two they are one_.' It is something that you will have to figure out on your own."

Yugi sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly, "This is giving me a headache. Usually, I like puzzles, but this one seems to be a bit much."

The corners of Shadi's mouth seemed to quirk up at this, but it was quickly covered when he sobered and said, "Back to what I was saying before about the Millennium Items, Emperor Seto has discovered some scrolls that describe the locations of these items. Combined with ancient tablet writing that he discovered before your birth and forewarning of the Prophecy, Emperor Seto has been able to narrow down the areas the Millennium Items may be located.

"You must not let him gain possession of these items. If he does, he may become powerful enough to take the puzzle from you. What you have to do is find the locations of the Items for yourselves and take the Items before Emperor Seto can."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Anzu asked in a high, shrill voice, clearly alarmed.

"I will give you this—it has the locations of all the Millennium Items save the Millennium Puzzle, Scale, and Ankh. Those are already in our grasp."

Shadi handed an old, worn-out scroll to Yugi who grasped it gently as the others crowded around behind him to read it. It was filled with riddles! How on earth were they supposed to find the locations of the Millennium Items with this?

"Shadi-sama, how are we supposed to-"

Looking up, Yugi noticed that Shadi had disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as he had come. Internally he groaned, how were they supposed to know what to do? Everything was just so confusing!

To Be Continued...

* * *

A/N- I've decided to put review responses down here from now on, so now you know where to look for them...

**Note:** I'm looking for two people to beta read for me. If anyone knows of someone that is a very good beta reader that would be willing to go over my stories, I would greatly appreciate it if you told me.

**Note:** Um, if any of you have any good ideas for riddles, please let me know...otherwise this could take a while...

**Fushicho Hime:** (blushes) Really? Thank you! So you liked them meeting? Me too. It turned out better than I had hoped although not as well as I would have liked. I'm glad you enjoyed it however.

**cwthewolf: **(smiles) I will!

**Subieko: **Um...semi-back anyway. I'm hoping to be back for good (at least for a while) now. Yeah, that's why it could be really dangerous in the wrong hands...I'm not really sure how far I want to take that though, but this entire plot is extremely confusing and it's hard trying to keep everything straight. Especially when I have ten other different plots running through my head! (blushes) Yeah, I'm not good at writing fight scenes...that's something I need to work on b/c I have a big one coming up in my other fic!

**korieana: **Glad to see you again! I'm glad that you liked my writing enough to review both of my stories! Yeah, I know what you mean! We can't let those evil bad guys get their hands on them!

**Nicky: **Hey!...(reads review)...and you are sooooo weird! And such a dork!...Like me! (smiles).

_I'd like to thank Nicky for beta reading this chapter for me!_

Ja ne, Mitsuko


	8. The Riddle of Millenniums

**Title:** Yami mata Hikari no Tenshis

**Author:** Mitsuko-chan

**Date: **January 8, 2005

**Summary: **AU-Egyptian-ish. An ancient prophecy is to be fulfilled as an evil High Priest kills the King and Queen to take over their kingdom, leaving their two twin boys in the hands of maidservants. Will the prophecy come to pass or will darkness forever cover the land? Yugi & Yami centered fic.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-gi-oh!, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this story.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N- **I'm sorry! I know you all are going to want to kill me once you see how short this chapter is after I've been making you wait so long, but the sad truth is, I've developed a common writer's cold, better known as writer's block. Eep! Please don't hurt me. If you're a writer, you know exactly how frustrating this is and I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that this is all I have for now.

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Riddle of Millenniums

* * *

**

"_I will give you this-it has the locations of all the Millennium Items save the Millennium Puzzle, Scale, and Ankh. Those are already in our grasp."_

_Shadi handed an old, worn-out scroll to Yugi who grasped it gently as the others crowded around behind him to read it. It was filled with riddles! How on earth were they supposed to find the locations of the millennium Items with this?_

"_Shadi-sama, how are supposed to-"_

_Looking up, Yugi noticed that Shadi had disappeared as quickly and mysterious as he had come. Internally he groaned, how where they supposed to know what to do? Everything was just so confusing!_

Looking back at the parchment in his hand, Yugi read the riddle out loud.

_The guardians hide_

_The secrets of a millennium_

_Hidden chambers_

_Shelter a resting guardian_

_Where the flowing dream_

_Meets the stone obstruction_

_In peace_

_There shall you find_

_The timeline ornament_

_Past the sandy crossing_

_Where the death house rests_

_There shall you find_

_The pointing circle_

_Beyond a moment in time_

_Lies a rebel_

_And wedged in the rocks_

_There you shall find_

_The ruler's staff_

_Stored in the depths_

_Of the purple chasm_

_Awaits the all seeing mistress_

_There you shall find_

_The soul's window_

_Go, seek, find_

_O, prophecy's devined_

Yugi scrunched up his head in confusion and turned to the others standing around him. Looking at the dismay blatantly displayed on each face, he figured that none of them had any idea what it was supposed to mean either, but then again, wasn't that how riddles were meant to be?

Yugi sighed and asked, "Anybody even have a clue?"

There was a slight pause before Jounouchi started in hesitantly, "Well..."

"What is it, Jou?" asked Yami.

"It's just...did you notice those parts that were repeated? 'There you will find' yadda, yadda, yadda? I think whatever comes after that is the item that we're looking for and the rest is describing the location."

Everyone considered for a moment before Honda looked at Jounouchi, stunned.

"Wow, Jou, I never knew you actually had a brain up there!"

Jounouchi fixed him with a glare and pushed him, causing Honda to shove back. It would have ended up with a full fledged fist fight if Mai had not spotted the trouble and chided, "Settle down, boys. This is important."

The two quieted immediately and Yugi turned back to the enigma at hand, Yami coming up beside him to look at the riddle as well.

"Hm..." he commented. "I wonder if there is something guarding them? It says 'The guardians hide the secrets of a millennium." After a few moments contemplation, Yami said, "Apparently, all of the Millennium Items are hidden in their own secret chambers with some kind of 'resting guardian' that might just wake up if we try to take the Items. I wonder what that could be..."

"I'm more interested in the geographical aspects of the riddle," announced Anzu at large.

Everyone turned to her in surprise at both her extensive vocabulary and the meaning of her words.

"The who-radical-a-pecks?" Jounouchi inquired, scratching his head.

Anzu rolled her eyes at the typical boy answer, at least to her frame of mind, before repeating, "The geographical aspects of the riddle, meaning where things are located in the world."

Jounouchi mouthed the word "Oh" and turned to look at Honda and Bakura, both who were rolling their eyes at him as well.

"What do you mean, Anzu?" Yugi asked eagerly.

"You know that my mother taught me things at home? Well, one of the things she taught me was the geography of our island. She taught me the names of places and their meanings. Like that bit about the flowing dream reaching the stone obstruction in peace? I'm pretty sure it's talking about the Yume River connecting with the Ishi mountains at Salama."

Everyone looked to Anzu with surprise. Yugi's eyes glittered with delight as he asked, "Can you do that for the entire riddle?"

"I think so. Read it again."

Yugi read it again, slower-in pieces-so that Anzu could decipher the locations in the poem. When they had finished, it seemed that they had revealed all of the places and were able to head out.

The sandy crossing was the Sanford desert where the Takai Temple (death house) was situated.

It also seemed as if a moment in time referred to Saniya city, as past it lied Markku Volcano, also known as the Rebel.

The purple chasm was easily identified as Murasaki Canyon, which meant – Purple Canyon.

All they had left to figure out was which Millennium Item was which and figure out the direction to take. (Of course, Yami liked to remind them all that they might have some kind of protectors to deal with once they found the places.)

With the help of Mai and Isis, the group decided to travel north from Sono-the city they were currently in-to Salama in the Ishi Mountains by following the Yume River. After that they would travel east through the Sanford Desert to the Takai Temple, grab whatever Millennium Item that was there, head southwest to Markku Volcano, poke around a bit to find what they were looking for, and skip on over to Murasaki Canyon just to the west.

When laid out, the plan sounded simple enough, but everyone knows that most things are "easier said then done."

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N-** Sorry, sorry! (runs and hides) I figured you would rather read what I have than to not get another chapter for a while and wonder (once again) if I've died. So, there's what I have...and just note that if you kill me, I won't EVER be able to post again...(smiles tentatively). If you have any ideas for the guardians please leave them in your review. Thank you.

_**Review Responses:**_

Fushicho Hime: So you would like to be my beta reader? That's great! Thank you...I will be sending you an email shortly to make sure I have the right email address. Thank you so much for the compliment on Shaadi! He's a hard character to write. I had to redo it several times in order to get it just the way I liked it. He is REALLY mysterious!

Pharaoh Atemu's Angel: Well, I'll let you in on a little secret, he's not the only one confused...This is a really complicated and complex plot (from my POV Neways) and I'm having a hard time trying to straighten everything out and get all the right information to you at the right time. His confusion is simply echoing mine...Really? You'd beta read for me?! That's awesome, thank you so much! you give me your email address...I looked on your profile page, but you didn't make it accessible. Thanks!

Game Lover: Thank you! You just made my day!

Nicky: Man, you have such a long screen name! Rambling random nonsense is cool too! It makes me laugh anyways (reset! LOL). All I have to say to all that is HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Etc.

Subieko: Yeah, I know. He's just one of those know-it-all characters that pops up to give information that you couldn't get from any other source! Just think, you'll be seeing him again sometime...(oh, what fun!)...Uh, so you, er, you caught that did you...All I'm going to say is that the ending will be nothing like what you would expect and it is most definitely going to be surprising! I've been told before that I'm good at digging myself into holes and finding ways out that no one else would ever think of...this is definitely one of those times...And that's all I'm saying on the matter! Oh, trust me, this has been complicated from the start, you just didn't see it at first...sheesh, to think I've gone and confused myself into writer's block!

koriaena: Yeah, I know, but that's what makes it so funny! (giggles) He'll be dropping by again soon. No, Marik/Malik's not going to be in it...I think you've seen all the characters by now, although I'm not sure as this story seems to be writing itself...and sometimes chooses not to share it's ideas with me – like now, which is why I'm suffering from writer's block! (sigh) Sorry.


End file.
